


Hiraeth

by PurpleArrowzandLeather



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Loner Hiccup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-05-24 03:25:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 37,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleArrowzandLeather/pseuds/PurpleArrowzandLeather
Summary: After being disowned by his father, Hiccup goes to defeat the Red Death. Instead of his father welcoming him back, he outcasts him.





	Hiraeth

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Dreamworks or any other counterpart involved in the making of HTTYD. All new characters are listed, and any changes made to anatomy or story are my own lore and theories.

          Stoick had only pulled Hiccup back to the surface because he needed him to fly the Night Fury. Hiccup knew that when he saw his father's expression as he jumped up on Toothless. He can still see the sting of betrayal in Stoick's eyes, but he was far past caring. 

          "This doesn't change anything, Hiccup."

          Hiccup's glare is steely. "It doesn't matter. I was only ever your disappointment anyway."

          He lifts off the ground without looking back. The wind brushes his tears from his face as Toothless streaks skywards. The familiar scream of air fills him with exhilaration as Toothless opens his mouth to strike. He presses low to Toothless' back as he swings around, waiting for the Red Death to rise. It gives chase after a few painstaking moments of waiting, flapping enormous wings to gain ground. As it crashes through the sea stacks, Hiccup is sprayed with rock and debris. 

          "Keep going, bud."

          The huge dragon's breath buffets against Hiccup's back and he shudders. Toothless zips between two sea stacks and the shoots straight upwards to gain some distance. The goliath of a dragon follows, the darkness of the clouds shrouding him from view. Hiccup grins as he realizes he has a better view than the beast. Hiccup taunts it and Toothless roars with anger, speeding across the sky and blasting at the Red Death's wings. It's when the beast howls with rage that Hiccup knows he's in trouble. 

          He warns Toothless of the incoming flames and the tailfin catches fire when he doesn't move fast enough. 

          "We're out of stalling time, buddy."

          Toothless dives for the ground and the goliath follows, steadily gaining speed and catching up to the small pair. Hiccup pats Toothless' head and he flips around to blast the growing cloud of gas in the Red Death's throat. It's all a rush of motion as fire billows up around him and then all he sees is white.

          He comes to with a start, sitting up in bed.  _Why am I in a bed?_

          "Hiccup."

          Hiccup growls at the shape of Stoick hovering in his doorway. "What do you want?"

          "It doesn't matter what I want. The people think that dragon is dangerous."

          "Where is he?"

          "He was in no shape to return to Berk."

          Hiccup's breaths stop in his chest. "You left him there?" he says softly.

          "Aye. You'll be leaving soon anyways, soon as Gobber points you to a boat. Life will be harder with your new leg."

          "New leg?" Hiccup pulls his cover and stares at the bunched fabric where his leg should be. "Great." he sighs, looking up at the man who used to be his father. "Get me the boat. I'm going as soon as I'm able."

          "Not going to ask to stay? You did just save the whole village."

          "Because  _you_ wouldn't listen to me! You almost got an entire village killed because you are  _Stoick the Vast!_ You could never lose to a dragon! Least of all one that's five time the size of a Viking boat!"

          Hiccup stands, stumbling as he loses his balance, but righting himself. Stoick steers him out of the house and into the town square where the people come and trail him and Gobber leads him to his small fishing boat. There is one bag of fish, a few slices of mutton, cheese, and a gourd of water inside it and Hiccup drops in. Stoick gives his outcasting speech as he's required and Hiccup rows away. He stands up and faces the people. 

          "I've done my part, and sacrificed everything to protect people!" he shouts. "If I return, you'll pray we had never met again!"

          After that, Hiccup makes way for Helheim's Gate, barely stopping to eat or drink along the way. All he knows is that he has to find Toothless. 

          He's exhausted by the time he reaches Helheim's Gate and he drifts into the fog as he rubs his arms. He trembles all over, his muscles unused to such exertion. He moors his boat to a sea stack and takes a quick nap to quell his exhaustion. He slouches back and passes out as soon as his head hits the planks. 

          Hiccup is startled awake by a loud squawk and he finds himself staring up into the face of a tan Nadder. "Hey, girl."

          It peers at him. 

          "Or boy, whatever you are." Hiccup sighs, picking up his paddle. "You seen a Night Fury around here?"

          It blinks, tilting its head. Hiccup rolls his eyes, opening his bag of fish and offering it one. The creature nearly takes his hand off with its excited grab for food and bobs its head up and down in gratitude. Hiccup quietly stretches out a hand to its snout and the dragon easily slides its nose into his palm. Hiccup smiles at it.

          "Care to take me to the island, pal?"

          He ties his mooring rope to her foot and she gladly tugs him to the shore of the island. He crawls from the boat, and the Nadder helps him shore it when it's clear he won't be able to move it himself.  He collapses in the dirt and the Nadder squawks in surprise, picking him up in her jaw and trying to awkwardly set him back on his feet. He makes it about half a step before he stumbles to his knees, weeping. 

          He screams at the sky and rain starts to fall. The Nadder tilts his head and Hiccup sits there, getting soaked. A familiar croon gets his attention and he looks up, seeing Toothless being helping along by a Monstrous Nightmare. Hiccup scrambles to his feet, limping over to the dragon and crashing to his knees in front of him. 

          "Toothless, bud! Are you okay?"

          He licks at Hiccup's face and Hiccup hugs him around the neck. Other dragons crowd around to get a good look at the small human and Hiccup glances around. A touch of fear rises in his chest and Toothless coos reassuringly. They press in close, all wanting to check out the scrawny viking in their midst. Hiccup makes sure to touch all of them and Toothless laughs at him. 

          What's left of his rigging is still strapped to his body, the torn saddle askew and the tailfin completely burnt off. 

          "Aw, bud. This is never happening to you again."

          Rain makes it hard to get the straps off and his hands slip and catch on the pieces of metal that go around his leg. Toothless licks at his hands once he's finished, carefully sealing the wounds and cleaning up the blood. The other dragons herd the pair inside once it starts to storm harder and Hiccup shivers within the safety of the volcano.  _Isn't that a weird thought._ Hiccup smiles.  _Safe in a volcano._

          He settles in front of a fire that Toothless makes and the black dragon rests behind him, nuzzling his soaking head. Terrors cuddle up next to and on top of him and Hiccup chuckles. The rest of the dragons circle around them, settling in rings around Toothless in the center. Most of them, it seemed, came back after the Vikings left, and are more than happy to accept Toothless as their new leader. 

          When morning comes, most of the dragons are eating breakfast already, sharing with each other and offering pieces to Toothless as they walk by. Hiccup struggles to his feet, wandering out of the volcano to what's left of the Red Death. He picks up a few scraps of hide and all of the spines or claws he can find. Once the other dragons figure out what he's doing, they start to carry in pieces of hide that he would never have been able to lift.

          He spends all morning scraping the excess off until it's a smooth piece and then he finds a couple of sturdy trees to build a framework from. Stretching the skin over the frame takes more work than Hiccup has in him at the time, and Toothless picks him up in his maw and plops him back down inside the cave. He's almost glad, though his resistance was futile anyway. His leg aches and he's shaky trying to stand, so he finally decides enough is enough.  _Not that Toothless would let me outside until I was feeling healthier anyway._

          It takes a few hours for the other dragons to settle down as well, and they circle up around Toothless again. He doesn't seem to mind. Hiccup is up bright and early the next morning, stretching hides as much as he can. The other dragons watch him curiously and Hiccup only laughs when Toothless comes and slips his large head under Hiccup's legs so he can sit on his back instead of standing. He has yet to find a good Gronkle to start forging, but that's a long ways off. 

          He sighs, staring at the thick hide of the Red Death. It'll be good armor, but he needs new clothes. "Can someone find me a yak? Preferably alive so I can get a good meal or eight out of it first?"

          Toothless makes a noise in his throat and five dragons break off from watching him, flying off in all different directions. 

          "Oh, Thor. I need some wool too."

          Toothless shrugs his thick shoulders and Hiccup sinks a bit. There is so much to do, but Hiccup can't really do any of it until he manages to make a forge and craft a needle. Some of the hide is going to paper, the rest to his armor, but he still needs some form of string or hair in order to bind everything to make a new harness for Toothless. He'll salvage what he can from the old one, but it was pretty clunky anyway.

          A forge. 

          He steers Toothless to the tree pile that he had gotten set up and the other dragons help him pull them inside. He carefully draws straight lines across the wood with a claw and carves out the posts for what is going to be his forge. 

          It takes him nearly a week. He's still limping around, but not near as heavily as he had been. He's ready to make a new leg so he doesn't limp at all, but he hasn't quite got all the material yet. Toothless won't let him overwork himself, so flying all day around the island isn't in the agenda. He plays with the leather instead, taking a short strip and cutting ovals out of it. He stacks them up in one area, waiting on the chance to get material so he can create the shoulder plate to wrap them around. The dragon hide is next on his list and he recreates Toothless' fin with a rough sketch in charcoal. He takes a large piece of dragon-scale hide and maps out where the Gronkle Iron rods will go. He makes a few molds for the gearwork and he compresses his rigging to all fit into a slim strip of leather. Theoretically, of course. 

          It takes another two days to get out in search of the material, and Hiccup ran out of things to plan that didn't involve a metal or two. 

          He brought along a few dragons, loading them up with the rocks needed for his iron. He finds a patch of black flowers and grabs a handful. It would make the perfect dye. He marks it on his map of the island and jumps onto Toothless. The dragon leaps into the sky and Hiccup whoops with joy. Now all that's left is to find the iron ore and then he'll finally start to get somewhere.

          After he finds the ore, his plans finally start to come around. He carefully molds a needle and then begins stitching every piece of his fresh leather that's been laid out. The sheep wool was very fine, and he almost didn't want to know where the dragons had gotten it. Mining for ore probably would be about as tough as Thor's hammer if he didn't have the other dragons with him. 

          It had been a few days since Toothless had scooped him up in his mouth, and it was when Hiccup had spent hours cutting leather that he felt the softness of Toothless' mouth around him. He's too tired to struggle, easily falling into the nest that the rest of the dragons had made. Curled at Toothless' side, Hiccup is starting to wonder if he's more dragon than Viking with as easily as they all accept him. 

          It's midnight, or nearly so when there's a flutter of wings that wakes Hiccup. None of the dragons stir during the night without reason. Hiccup sits up and rises to his feet. Toothless doesn't rouse, but the Deadly Nadder not far away lifts its head and crawls to its feet to follow him. He recognizes the Nadder, of course, but it is rather hard to tell in the dying light of the fire what might have cause the stir. He goes after the noise. 

         He can feel the Nadder's hot breath on his back before too long and a shadow flicks in the entrance of the cavern. Hiccup creeps closer and pokes his head outside. He's frightened by a shape swooping creature and he stumbles back with a yelp, effectively waking the whole cave. Toothless finds him first and races outside, roaring to whatever is out hiding in the dark. The other dragons crowd the entrance, keeping Hiccup safely in the bunch. Toothless' green eyes glow in the darkness and his ears lift as he listens. Hiccup bursts from the cave, despite the growling protests of the other dragons. He jumps onto Toothless' back and pulls out his sword, carefully crafted with the help of two Gronkles. 

          The wind howls back in answer and snow pricks at Hiccup's face. Hiccup grips his sword tighter, leaning up in his saddle as Toothless' head turns to the right. Toothless roars another warning and there's a buffeting of air as a large dragon lands in front of them. Blue light shines from Toothless' mouth and the other dragons rally to his back, snarling. 

          The large dragon peers at him, electricity crossing over his skin in small patterns. Hiccup tosses his sword away, stepping off of Toothless. "Hey there, big guy."

          Hiccup crouches low, nearly crawling towards the dragon, as he had learned was better received. He puts his hand out, turning has face away as all of the more dangerous dragons seemed to require.  _Complete trust, or they will never trust me._

          A snout presses into his hand and he can feel the current running just under his fingers. The skin is sleek to the touch and Hiccup smiles. He glances back at Toothless. 

          "All good, buddy."

          The Skrill nudges his back and Hiccup laughs, Toothless rearing up on his hind legs and picking Hiccup up by the back of his shirt. He moans expressively at the Skrill before turning and walking carefully back into the cave. Hiccup is fairly certain he's being treated like a baby dragon, but he's not about to stop them. The Skrill carefully settles in an open spot of the circle as a few Terrors fly in from outside. A small blue one settles on top of the Skrill and the rest sleep near the fire that Toothless freshened up. 

          With a sigh, Hiccup turns over in the soft nest and promptly falls back asleep. 

          When morning comes, Hiccup stretches, a wide grin on his face. "Hey, bud. I've gotta snag your tail for a sec."

          Toothless barely twitches, his tail swinging around and hitting Hiccup in the face and offering free access to the rigging. Hiccup scampers up, tugging the tail fin off and heading into his forge. There's a cave-wide groan from all the dragons and most of them get up and leave to go find breakfast. If Hiccup is up, they're all going to be up for a long while. Toothless, on the other hand, snores rather loudly through all the pounding of metal. 

          When Hiccup is finished, he dyes it. The black color and hide look remarkably like Toothless' real fin and when he slips the rigging back on, Toothless looks at it for a few moments before smiling. He'd coated the metal pieces with a thin pieces of rubber, hopefully keeping both of them from being struck by lightning what with their new member and all. Toothless looks like his old self, and his rigging is barely noticeable. Even the saddle has been rubbed down and stained in black. Every piece of his clothing would be eventually, mostly to help with stealth, but he'd have to find more of those flowers first.

          He takes Toothless out for a test flight. The other dragons all join him, all joyfully zipping through the sea stacks behind Helheim's gate. His new prosthetic fits directly into Toothless' harness when he isn't walking on it. He nears the edge, reaching out for the blue sky beyond as the air freezes his face. Toothless roars and the rest of the dragons head out over the clear water just outside the fog. Hiccup joins them, watching as Toothless makes an undulating noise in his throat. It doesn't seem to take the first time, but just as he's doing it again, a scauldron pokes his head above the water.

          Sea shockers start to circle under the water and Hiccup laughs. "This-this-this is amazing! I've never seen them do this before!"

          Toothless croons, feeling Hiccup shift so that he can lean over to watch. The dragons start to swoop down, snagging fish as they surface. Toothless joins them and Hiccup can't help but grin, reaching down to skim the water with his fingertips. 

          "Oh, bud. This is incredible. I could get used to this." 

* * *

           **Two Years Later**

          A grin lights Hiccup's face as he swings above the cloud bank, standing up on Toothless' back. He stands taller than he had only a couple months ago, recently having had his growth spurt. He had to adapt his saddle a little, his legs seeming not to fit as well now that they're longer.

          A pair of Snaptrappers cross his field of vision and he glances behind him, seeing his ever-growing mass of dragons behind him. The two Whispering Deaths that had found him last year have settled in nicely, though he did have to get them to stop tunneling new exits out of the cavern. Thunderdrums had joined late in the last season, winter forcing them to keep searching for good shelter. Hiccup was more than willing to offer it. Changewings had come. A mated pair of Rumblehorns had come. The cave was getting rather full in a hurry. Even just the more common dragons had filled in the spaces left by the exotic dragons. There is a Singetail sleeping in the corner back at the cave right now, his wing broken. He had been carried back by two Nadders. 

          Dragons Hiccup had never seen before stopped in and he had drawn every single one into his new book. It wasn't hints on how to kill or tame them, just a log of each type and how many were in the cave. He had helped out a Hobblegrunt a week ago, but he hasn't seen it since. Three Timberjacks had taken up residence right after that. 

          Shrugging his shoulders, Hiccup pulls out of his head. He locks Toothless' fin into position and stands up on his back, spreading his arms and feeling the wind push against his body. His closes his eyes, just inhaling in the peace of the cold. 

          The illusion is shattered when he hears the spinning of a bola and he leaps to Toothless' wing to pull him off course. The move is effective and Hiccup almost smiles before he slips off the edge of Toothless' wing. A Nadder chases Hiccup, but he waves her off. 

          "No! Help Toothless back to the cave! I'll find my own way back!"

          With a beat of hesitaion, she does as he asks and Hiccup plunges into the icy water. He's gotten much better at swimming, but the shock of the cold stops his arms from pumping. He comes around right when arms reach down and grab him out of the water. He breathes out a thank you as he's dropped before the captain. 

          "Are you all right, kid?"

          He gets a look of cages in the back and realizes it's a trapping boat. He shivers, pretending it's from the cold. "Y-yeah. F-fine."

          They drop a blanket around his shoulders and he curls up, feeling small compared to the hulking people surrounding him. The captain scrutinizes him and Hiccup looks down at his feet.

          "What were you doing up there, kid?"

          Hiccup coughs a bit. "Those dragons tried to carry me off."

          "I saw that Nadder swoop down to come after you, but veered off when it saw our ship."

          "Thanks again, by the way. I had only just got out of that big one's claws."

          The captain laughs. "You jumped. You crazy kid. Or....." Hiccup holds his breath. "you were riding it."

          Hiccup goes rigid and he looks up the Captain. "I was what?"

          The captain scratches at his thick black beard, walking forwards and crouching in front of him. "You heard me. You ride dragons."

          Hiccup is quiet for a few moments before bursting out in laughter. "That's nuts!"

          He drags Hiccup up by his hair, the blanket falling from his shoulders. Hiccup squirms, grimacing. "You will tell us where they are hiding."

          "Not for an ounce of Loki's luck!" Hiccup spits.

          The captain grins, his two missing teeth just off center of the top making Hiccup cringe. "Well, it's a good thing you don't have Loki's luck."

          He drags Hiccup, kicking and growling out threats before they toss him into a cell. He rubs at his head, sinking against the wooden wall of the boat and curling up.  _I have to get some gear for my head. Ow._

          They come almost an hour later and try to beat it out of him. Fire courses through his veins and for the next four hours, Hiccup lives in a daze, questions coming through slowly and his vision swimming. The Captain has a less direct approach afterwards, sitting him down for a meal he doesn't eat. Instead, he tosses the plate overboard and glares hard at him. His jaw throbs, the ragged cut from jaw to chin still bleeding sluggishly.  

          After the first week of his stay, he's covered in cuts and bruises and his beatings are all starting to blend together. It's only when he's smacked awake the next morning that he feel a chilling sense of foreboding in his body, which trembles with each step. He's tied to the mast, facing it, his shirt already taken days ago. The blinding pain that follows sends pain lancing up and down his slight frame, whip cracking and leaving bloody scores everywhere. That night is the first time someone treats his wounds, though they are none too gentle about it. He can barely feel his body afterward, and his head buzzes not unpleasantly. It distracts him anyway. 

          In a fever-induced haze, Hiccup manages to get through the next two days without much trouble, the risk of killing him not worth the loss of potential knowledge. The beatings start again soon after that and Hiccup still refuses to tell them anything.  _Not even if Odin himself asked me!_

          They pull him outside for the first time in about two weeks and he squints into the sunlight, stumbling back towards the hull for a moment before righting himself. He stands up as straight as he can as he faces the captain again, still frowning. 

          "You've held up better than expected, boy, but I will give you one last chance before the next weeks of your life get very bloody. Tell us where the dragons are, and I'll let you go."

          Hiccup scoffs. "No, you won't. You'd need me to ever get close, and I will never, ever, help you. They would kill you on sight the moment they saw me."

          The captain grins. "Then may the goddess of death eagerly await your arrival in her halls as she listens to your screams."

          Hiccup is lucky not to lose his left eye when twin swords slice down at him. He staggers back, holding the side of his face as blood drips down.  _I suppose it evens out the scarring on my face, since the right side of my jaw should be pretty gruesome by now._

          The next weeks are a nightmare, screams filling his days, and his dreams as well. He wonders where Toothless is, hoping that he's safe. His stomach his a long cut across it and his right arm is broken. Walking on his own would be an impossible feat. His skin feels sticky and fevers rack his body with shivers on and off. The rope burns around his wrists are barely a tingle compared to what the rest of him feels like in his waking moments.

          The explosion that rocks the boat barely rouses him, and he's only just rolling to his knees when he hears a low croon. "Toothless?"

          There's three more explosions from outside and Hiccup flinches at each one, staring into the darkness to try to find the dragon he's hoping for. 

          "Toothless! Bud! Are you in here?"

          A pair of green eyes turn to him and Hiccup nearly bursts into tears with relief. Light charges in Toothless' mouth and the wood beside his cell splinters, opening up a hole big enough to crawl through. It's a good thing too, because crawling is about all Hiccup can do. His fingers feel for the harness and he shakily pulls himself up into the saddle after feeling around for his shirt. He reaches for the sword in the saddlebag, forgetting about his arm before crying out. An expressive moan follows and Hiccup decides to let Toothless do the work. He carefully slips his metal leg into the rigging and Toothless rushes back out of the hull, roaring for retreat from the other dragons. They heed his call and Hiccup looks back long enough to watch the boat sink into the murky black water. 

          He stays fully calm just long enough to get Toothless back to the cave, the entire hoard of dragons crowding as close to the center as they can, a fire burning in the middle for Hiccup to sleep next to and Toothless helps him from his back. Hiccup sets his arm with a crack, a small yelp escaping him before he ties it up straight with a couple of the rods he was going to use in Toothless' tail. When he manages to stop getting licked and sniffed by every dragon as gently as a kitten, he reaches Toothless back in the middle. The huge nest is fluffier than ever and Hiccup breaks down at the sight of it. He wraps around Toothless' neck and sobs. The dragons all rumble and croon and chitter in response to his distress and every head is turned until he quiets. Hiccup removes his shirt, wincing as the dried blood pulls free from his skin. Toothless thoroughly cleans every inch of his upper body, the blood highly unpleasant on his tongue.

          Hiccup breaks again an hour later and Toothless gently licks at his hair. Hiccup doesn't have the strength to be angry or to stop him, only weeping harder as Toothless wraps carefully around him. The next morning, Hiccup wakes to find that there is a small pile of carefully roasted fish in front of the nest. Toothless easily cuts it up into smaller portions and Hiccup eats carefully. It takes a couple of days for his stomach to loosen the knots that weeks of pain had curled into it, and his appetite returns. Toothless sticks close to his side, watching his every move for signs of pain or distress until one of the dragons squawks out a warning call. 

          Hiccup turns abruptly, stumbling into the dirt. Toothless helps him to his feet and Hiccup holds his arm close to him, slipping into his saddle. He wishes he could reach back for his sword, but he hasn't had time to made a twin for the opposite side. He doesn't have the energy for it now. 

          He recognizes the shape of a blue Nadder flapping towards the island and he relaxes a bit. Toothless growls out a warning anyway and the Nadder lands cautiously on the island. Hiccup ducks low on Toothless' back when he sees a face he never thought he'd see again on its back. 

           _Astrid._

          He's wearing his black leathers now, the cloak dipping underneath his arm as he shifts. He pulls up his hood and the mask that covers the bottom half of his face before letting Toothless creep forward to meet her. None of the dragons are very welcoming to outsiders at the moment, not with Hiccup in his vulnerable state. 

          "Easy, girl." Astrid says quietly, hopping down. 

          Dust puffs up around her ankles and she glances around. Toothless walks behind the rows and rows of dragons blocking the entrance to the cave. Astrid has already dropped her weapon to the ground as Toothless stalks through to the front. Hiccup still holds his useless arm close to him, letting Toothless raise his head to keep him out of sight. 

          "Toothless?" Astrid whispers, peering around to get a look at his tail. Seeing the matching skin and not any obvious contraptions, she takes a nervous step back. "Not Toothless. I'm looking for a boy named Hiccup. Have any of you seen him?"

          At the name of their injured member, many of them snarl.

          Hiccup taps Toothless' neck and he chuffs, carefully shifting so that Hiccup can get down more easily. Hiccup doesn't pull down his hood, or say anything. He doesn't have to when she sees the leg.

          "Hiccup?"

          "What do you want?"

          "I've been searching for you for two days. The captain of a ship washed up on Berk's shore and he was delirious, talking about an army of dragons raining down on his ship and destroying it. He said something about a boy they assumed to be a rider."

          Hiccup stiffens. "So?"

          "He said they tortured you once he was awake."

          He stares into her blue eyes, watching the two stormy orbs widen as he pulls his mask and hood down. "Why come here? Why now?"

          Her gaze hardens at his tone and sensing her aggression, the dragons growl in turn. "I came because I wanted to make sure you were okay!"

          "I am just  _peachy_ , Astrid. So glad you asked. Too bad you didn't start years ago." Hiccup huffs. "You know, you should have just sent a fruit basket. Might have been easier than finding some poor dragon to fly out here while Stoick wasn't looking. "

          He steps closer and she growls, pulling her ax from her saddle. The other dragons leap forward, but Hiccup raises his good hand and they all sink back, wary. He can hear the hissing Changewings camouflaged on either side of him. He makes them stand down too.

          Astrid puts her ax to his throat and Hiccup only stands there, his gaze stony. "Don't you  _dare_ assume that I came here for forgiveness. I did nothing to you, and I have never stopped wondering."

          "Yeah? And what does Stoick think of your dragon?" Astrid flinches and Hiccup laughs coldly. "He doesn't know. How nice. You know, that's exactly what got me here, Astrid."

          "I doubt you regret it that much, Hiccup."

          He nudges her ax aside and checks out the Nadder she brought with her. It sniffs at him and he runs his fingers up her head. She rubs up against him and Astrid growls, waiting for a response that won't come. 

          "You're a coward. You stay out here and hide from your father-" 

          Hiccup stops dead in his tracks and the Nadder skitters out of his way as he taps her flank. He towers over Astrid, letting her look at ever nick and scratch on his face. Her eyes flick down to his arm and his lip curls. He pulls the leather laces of his armor and they drop to the ground easily, right arm armor still intact to keep it immobilized. He feels a little self-conscious. He's painfully thin.

          "Did I suffer this because I'm a coward, Astrid Hofferson?" he says quietly, his hair swishing to one side as the wind sharpens.

          Her hands clap over her mouth as she sees all of his wounds. 

          "They tried to shoot Toothless down when they saw us flying together and I wasn't in my saddle. I fell into the water and they captured me." he takes another step forward. "They wanted to know everything that I knew, how to train dragons so that they could capture, and kill, and sell them. I was a coward before, Astrid. Not standing up to my father because I wanted so badly to follow in his footsteps that I could nearly taste the dragon blood in my mouth even when I knew that I never could."

          Her fingers stretch out of their own accord to touch the ragged scar of Hiccup's jawline and he flinches away from her touch. "And then you were free." she says softly. "I am so sorry, Hiccup. I just- you're so-...."

          Hiccup laughs, snagging her fingers and pulling them from his face. "Broken? Is that the word you're looking for?"

          "Different."

          "I guess that's what happens when you spend almost two months tied in the bottom of a boat waiting for the next beating." Hiccup growls, turning away from her and stalking towards the mouth of the cave after picking up his black armor and carefully tugging it back on. "You'll find I'm not very trusting right now, Astrid. Come in or don't, your choice."

          Astrid watches the dragons, including hers, rally around Hiccup, keeping him in the middle all the way into the mouth of the cave. She follows at a distance, her only buffer between the dragons' teeth being Hiccup's invitation to come in.

          The heat hits her first and she nearly melts into the floor. 

          Hiccup shakes his head, picking up a small pair of gloves from the nest and walking into his small structure. Only Toothless enters it with him, the rest of the dragons staying dutifully outside. Astrid wades through the crowd after a couple minutes and he watches her maneuver past the Timberjacks who watch her carefully. He huffs, a small grin lighting his face. 

         Hiccup startles when he hears her knuckles wrap on the framework of the forge, dropping the set of tools he had just picked up. 

          "Sorry." she murmurs. "You've always been jumpy, but-"

          "But what, Astrid? I don't need you to tell me that I'm weird, or that you're sorry. I _definitely_ don't need pity." Hiccup growls, stooping to pick the tools up while Astrid creeps inside. "What I need is for-"

          Her hand touches his shoulder and he stiffens up before his shoulders slump in defeat. Astrid's eyes are full of an emotion that Hiccup can't place as she crouches down. The hug that she offers is a cautious one, and he can't help but feel he's the one who made it that way, but she still offers it. Hiccup grips her back as the solace of her embrace makes him feel warm. 

          "Astrid, I'm sorry, I-"

          "Don't apologize. I'm just glad you're safe."

          Hiccup pulls back. "Astrid, you can't tell my father about this."

          "He's worried, Hiccup. He won't say anything, but ever since that captain showed up, he won't stop pacing around. The villagers are starting to get suspicious."

          "Astrid, you can't. He'll come here and try to kill all of these dragons. I can't let that happen."

          "Can't I at least tell him that you're okay? Well.... relatively."

          Hiccup sighs, finally grabbing his tools and pulling away from her. "He'll want to know where, Astrid. That's just how he is."

          "I don't have to tell him where, but Hiccup, whatever happened, he's still your father."

          "Kinda. He disowned me, you know."

          Hiccup has Toothless wake the forge and Astrid settles down on the chair next to Hiccup's workbench. He turns. 

          "Are you just going to hang out in here? Don't you have to go back to Berk?"

          "Nope. Told the chief I was going fishing. I've done that a lot since you left."

          Hiccup laughs, but this time the sound is genuine. "The greatest warrior in Berk. Gone fishin'."

          Astrid cracks a grin and Hiccup pulls his molding material from its slot. "What are you building?"

          "With one hand? Not a lot."

          "So why light the forge then?"

          Hiccup shrugs. "Better to keep it burning."

          Astrid shakes her head at him. "I see you made Toothless a new tail."

          "A soon as I could once I got here. I've also done a few other things."

          "You covered up the mechanisms in Toothless' tail."

          "It was a necessary precaution. The Skrill in here wouldn't be very well appreciated if he shocked me off my dragon."

          "You have a Skrill? You can touch it?"

          "Oh yeah. I just have to keep him away from my forge. Man, that was a catastrophe the first time."

          Astrid looks up at all the carvings in the ceiling. "This forge is amazing, Hiccup. It must have taken you months."

          "To get it to look nice, yeah. To be operational, not really. Those Timberjacks made it infinitely easier to cut straight lines."

          "They're all really protective of you."

          Hiccup chuckles. "Yeah, a bit. Toothless is the alpha around here and they just kind of treat me like his baby."

          "They build that huge nest out there?"

          "Yep. I'm not complaining. You should try it out."

          "I don't think they'd let me in."

          Hiccup shrugs. "They let you into the cave, didn't they?"

          "Only after you invited me. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get here?"

          Hiccup's brow raises. "Astrid, I've done that hundred of times now. If I had to, I could probably swim here from outside Helheim's Gate."

          She laughs and some of the tension in the cave dies down. "Probably. I'm surprised you haven't tried it already."

          "I was lucky I didn't break my neck falling off a sea stack last year. I don't need any help trying to drown myself."

          She catches him struggling to hold the material he's been fiddling with in shape and she reaches over to help. "Are you sure?"

          "Oh, yeah. I do just fine drowning on my own, not that Snotloud hadn't tried once or twice before I left."

          Toothless lies down next to Hiccup's feet while he works, occasionally leaning up for Hiccup to rubs his nose. Astrid is quiet while Hiccup shakes his head, mashing up the molding material into a ball and reaching into another slot to grab a previous one. She recognizes the shape of a sword when she sees one and eyes the model.

          "You have reusable molds."

          "That I do. Saves me a lot of time and effort, wouldn't you think?"

          "Where's the sword?"

          He turns to reach with his good hand and smoothly pulls the sword from Toothless' saddle. He flips it in his hand and she grabs the pommel, staring at the jewels encrusted into it. 

          "These are beautiful. They match your eyes."

          He chuckles. "Yeah, I guess they do. The dragons brought them in." he pauses, glancing at the light coming from the melted metal. "Would you stir the metal in the forge quick?"

          Astrid gets up, cranking the stir rod to get it moving before Hiccup sets a bucket underneath the spigot, the prefect spot for the bucket to settle outlined in red paint. He tilts the churn, letting the metal drizzle out into the bucket and then swiftly carrying the heavy bucket over to the mold. 

          "Astrid, strap the two halves together. Make sure it's tight."

          She uses the belt straps hanging on the wall and quickly ties them up, Hiccup pouring in the metal at the top of the pommel. It's not the way she's used to seeing it done, but with the perfect balance of the one on the table, she's not about to complain. 

          They let it cool, sitting at the workbench and chatting about what's been going on in Berk. It isn't long after when Hiccup cracks the molds apart, shoving them back into their slot and then has Astrid help him hone the edges. He wraps a strip of black leather around the hilt and sews it snugly in place.

          He hands it to her. "Here."

          She holds it in her hands, swinging it around slowly. "It's perfect."

          "Keep it."

          She gawks, speechless. "I-I- uh," she fumbles for words. "Hiccup, I can't take this. You need it."

          "I'll make another. I'm serious, Astrid. Take it."

          She grips the hilt, looking down at it. "This is dragon skin, Hiccup. Did you-"

          "It's from the Red Death." he says quickly. "I dye all my leather, since I don't feel much like wearing green and red."

          Astrid seems to relax and Hiccup steers her back out into the cave. He's greeted with the same series of licks and chitters as he passes and Astrid laughs. 

          "They  _do_ treat you like Toothless' baby. That is so cute."

          "Oh, ha ha, how droll. I get carried around like I'm helpless some days."

          Astrid glances around, still laughing at him. "Stormfly?"

          A blue head raises from the floor of the den and Hiccup waves her over. Astrid hops up on her back and carefully puts the sword in her saddlebag. Before she takes off, Hiccup grabs her hand before she can leave. 

          "Astrid, I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier. I know that you mean well, and-" he breaks off, shaking his head. "I-...just don't tell my father, please Astrid."

          He can tell that she sees how important this is to him. "Okay. I'll see you soon, Hiccup."

          "Yeah, see you soon, I guess. We might not threaten your life next time."

          "I'd appreciate that."

          He watches her go and Toothless comes to stand next to him, making the same face he had after Astrid left him in the cove. 

          "What are you looking at?" Hiccup huffs, slipping into the nest and rolling over. "It's already dark outside, bud."

          Toothless noses at his armor and Hiccup sighs, carefully pulling his laces and letting it slip to the ground. Toothless gets his licked clean, and if it wasn't so disgusting, it would almost be sweet. Hiccup groans as Toothless gently licks the wounds on his back, sealing them up with his saliva. His body still aches, though it seems to get better with every clean. 

          He's still tempted to go wash off all of Toothless' spit in the nearest stream.

          He sinks into Toothless' side, praying for a dreamless sleep, but he wakes at about midnight with a hoarse scream, making every head up the cavern shoots up. Toothless croons soothingly, licking at his hair again. Hiccup's sobs fill the empty air.

          They are awake until morning when Toothless finally coaxes him back into a restless sleep and Hiccup stays quiet for the next four hours. The rest of the dragons join in suit, since none of them could sleep with their alpha's young so distressed. 

          They don't wake him when the blue dragon from the night before flies in with the girl on her back. When she sees Toothless in the nest, she approaches with caution.

          "Hey, Toothless." she sees Hiccup curled up tight in the nest, as close to Toothless as he can get. "He's still asleep?" Toothless rests his large head on Hiccup's an Astrid pulls a bag from over her shoulder. "I brought him some easy mutton to share for breakfast." Some of the other dragons come to attention at the word 'mutton', but Astrid pays them no mind. 

          "I did take care of myself for two years, Astrid. I'm not helpless."

          "So you keep saying."

          Toothless huffs at her when he realizes that she had woken him up and Hiccup uncurls stiffly. "Ugh. Toothless, what did you do to my hair?"

          Astrid laughs, pulling him to his feet and he rubs his face. Toothless stretches, opening his mouth in a wide yawn. Hiccup blindly reaches for the saddle rigging and Toothless takes a step closer to help him out. He hops up on Toothless' back when he finds it and groans. 

          "What are you doing?" Astrid asks. 

          "I'm going ou-" he breaks off, yawning. "Ahem. Out for a ride."

          Toothless takes off before she has a chance to ask to come along and Stormfly squawks in protest at being left behind. She barely gets onto Stormfly's back when she's swept up into the throng of moving dragons. She shouts in alarm when they all burst from the mouth of the cave, lifting off to follow Hiccup and Toothless.

          They streak upwards toward the clouds and disappear until the rest of the dragons catch up to him. She flies up next to Hiccup and he grins, unclipping his harness and standing up on Toothless' back. Toothless growls at him. 

          Hiccup huffs. "Come on, bud. We're above the clouds. Nobody can see us."

          Toothless gets over after a few minutes, just glad to have his rider on his back again. He can feel Astrid's eyes on him as he settles back into the saddle, slipping under the clouds again. He shoots straight back towards Helheim's Gate, the thick fog seeming to swallow him. Astrid glances back at the other dragons, an old feeling of fear creeping up her spine at the sight of so many of them. 

          She can hear Hiccup whooping somewhere around her, but once she's inside the fog, it's impossible to tell where. 

          Hiccup knows exactly where he is. "Come on, bud!"

          The air whistles around them as Toothless pushes to get faster and they reach the island in less than ten seconds. Hiccup stands up in the saddle as Toothless pulls up, holding on with his good hand. Toothless spins and Hiccup howls with the wind. Astrid listens to him crow from down below and a wide smile crosses her face. 

          When he finally comes back down, most of the dragons have already parted ways for the day or slipped back inside. Toothless loops twice in the air before landing and she can see Hiccup grimace before hopping off. 

          "Thanks, Toothless. I needed the adrenaline rush today."

          "How about breakfast?" Astrid shouts, Stormfly dropping her off in front of him. "Could you use breakfast today?"

          He looks up in the sky. "Uh, almost noon. Thor, I could probably use some lunch, actually."

          "Good. I brought mutton. It's inside."

          "I wouldn't count on it still being there. You'd be lucky if they left you a scrap."

          "Does leaving it in the nest change things?"

          Hiccup shrugs. "Sometimes."

          Hiccup limps a couple of steps before straightening and Toothless offers his side for support. Astrid catches up to him and he pulls his map book from his saddlebag. 

          "Here. This island is in the center of that map, everything else is places I've been in the last two years."

          She unfolds the map pieces one side at a time. "You've been everywhere. Berk is on here."

          "I didn't go there." Hiccup says, climbing up on Toothless' back as he leaps into the higher rings of the cave. The upper levels are full of baby dragons, all come back from the oasis that they'd brought him to. The mothers hover over their young. 

          It takes a minute for Stormfly to bring Astrid up to him. "They're so cute."

          "It was fuller last year. I think some of the mates stay away during the year."

          It's only then that Astrid realizes where she's standing. "It's a nursery."

          "Yep." Hiccup peers down over the edge. "I think your mutton is gone."

          Astrid looks down with him. "Those little moochers."

          "Don't worry about it. I'll take you for lunch. If you're interested in helping me out a bit first. I'm not cheap, Astrid."

          "You're the son of a chief. I think the last thing anyone would think you to be was cheap."

          "Again, Astrid, technically not his son anymore."

          "Would you stop that? He misses you, Hiccup."

          Hiccup shakes his head. "I'd rather not talk about Stoick, Astrid."

          "I know that."

          Hiccup looks down at her before Toothless swoops up another level. "Then why are you still talking about it?"

          "Because you keep running from the subject!"

          "Who says I'm running?" he calls back, and Astrid beckons Stormfly to take her up. 

          "I do."

          "What do you know about it, Astrid?" Hiccup says softly, watering little black flowers as they suck in the rays of sunshine from a series of slits in the mountain facing east. "You've never run from anything."

          "I ran from you and Toothless once."

          "Anyone in their right mind would run from me and Toothless."

          "But you came to get me. Helped me understand."

          Hiccup huffs, checking on his crops in the dark soil under his feet. "You would have told my dad the moment you got back to the village and Toothless would be dead."

          Astrid kneels down next to him. "And I was wrong. Hiccup, everyone in Berk is banned from ever riding a dragon. Stoick won't hear a word of it. Hasn't for the last two years. But I needed to know what you felt."

          "I'm apparently more dragon than Viking, according to my dad, since I chose them over a people who thought I was useless."

          "I thought you were weird, and very uncoordinated, but not useless. Well... maybe on the battlefield."

          Hiccup laughs. "Hey!" a tiny dragon jumps out onto his wrist. "Hey there, baby terror." a small lizard crawls out after him and Astrid picks it up. 

          "Looks like he found a friend."

          Hiccup leans over the edge. "Ashi!"

          A grown Terror flies up and Hiccup reaches his hand out to her, the baby squeaking in protest as she carries him back to the nursery. Hiccup puts the lizard back under the shade of a leaf and hops back onto Toothless' back. 

          "Farmer, seamstress, carpenter, artist, dyer, forgemaster, dragon flier. Is there anything you can't do?"

          Hiccup laughs and it echoes down into the bottom of the chamber. "Make my dad proud?"

          Astrid is surprised by the lack of venom in his tone. He doesn't seem at all hurt by the idea. She clambers back onto Stormfly. "That's not what I meant."

          Hiccup shrugs before Toothless leaps off the ledge and flies from the cave. Astrid rolls her eyes.  _Boys._

          She follows him out, following as best as she can. His flying skills are unmatched, though she doesn't get many opportunities to try it out. She's still a bit uncomfortable on Stormfly's back while Hiccup looks for all the world like he belongs there. Toothless flies straight up in the air and Astrid pulls Stormfly to a stop, watching them. She nearly comes unglued when Hiccup leaps from Toothless' neck, arching his back and free falling with Toothless right by his side. He reaches an arm out to grab the harness and Toothless quickly levels out, taking a quick zip through the sea stacks where Astrid loses sight of him. 

          When he reappears, his hair is a mess and Toothless glides towards her. Stormfly croaks at him and he rumbles back a response. 

          "So, you ready to work?"

          "I was born to work, Hiccup."

          Hiccup shrugs and takes off towards the far side of the island. When Astrid looks down, she can't quite see through the fog well enough to know what's down there until she lands. Hiccup is already leaning against the fence. 

          "You have sheep and yaks here?"

          Hiccup laughs. "I gotta eat somethin', Astrid." he reaches out to unlatch the gate without thinking and snatches his hand back with a groan. 

          "You okay?"

          "Yeah. Just a twinge. Nothing to worry about." Hiccup opens the gate with his good hand and gestures to Astrid to grab a set of shears. "The ones marked with blue paint need to be sheared. The rest should be fine until next week or so."

          Astrid doesn't complain, seeing as how Hiccup isn't exactly in the right shape to be shearing sheep anyway. He hands her a leather sack to put the wool in and heads over to the yaks to get milk. She listens to him talk to them.

          "Hey there, Bessie. You just stand nice and still, huh?"

          Astrid rolls her eyes. That has never worked.

          "That's a good girl. Thank Thor."

          She moos at him. 

          "Fine, fine. Thank Bessie too."

          Astrid laughs, picking up her full sack of wool and walking over to him. "Need anything else done?"

          "The chicken coop is over there." he points to a wooded area to the west of the fences. "Give the rooster a scratch while you're in there."

          "Chickens too? Hiccup, you're living better out here than most people do one Berk."

          "I have what I need. I sold some sheep at the market last year. Some of them probably made it to Berk."

          "They look really good. How did you get the lambs?"

          "There are still some wild roamers on the uninhabited islands." Hiccup shrugs, maintaining his usual level of modesty. "It doesn't take much to grow them out here. Ground's really good, since there's a volcano right over there. Plenty of grass"

          Astrid walks to the chicken coop and finds five hens and a rooster to be the inhabitants. "He really has made quite the life for himself out here."

          She puts the eggs into a basket that she found next to the door and closes it up behind her. When she turns, she sees Hiccup walking beside Toothless, Toothless carrying the bucket of milk ever so carefully and Hiccup carrying a lamb over his shoulder. He puts the lamb down next to the other sheep and three more little ones come over to play with it. 

          "Hey, Astrid?" Hiccup calls.

          "Yeah?"

          "Just leave the door open. They'll come back once it gets dark. The Terrors sniff out the eggs they might have laid outside and bring them back for their babies."

          Astrid opens the door and the chickens wander out. She jogs to catch up to him, basket in hand. 

          "What happens when it rains or snows?"

          Hiccup chuckles. "They bring back the chickens instead."

          "They don't eat them?"

          "Nope. They don't need to. A lot of the dragons spend most of their time fishing, so what they don't eat, they bring back to the cave. There's usually plenty to go around."

          "Does Toothless still hunt?"

          "When he's not watching my every move."

          Toothless cackles, not sorry in the least, but he doesn't move his head. He's very determined not to drop the milk.

          "Which market did you sell you sheep to?"

          "There's a pretty big one on Devon Island. It's open year around and trades with just about everyone."

          "Would you take me there?"

          Hiccup's smile is bemused. "Maybe one day. Right now, it's time for lunch. Toothless, could you call those terrors to come get this stuff? And whatever you do, do not trust Squeaker with the milk. She will drop it, and it will be on purpose."

          Toothless sets his milk down before roaring and Astrid sees Stormfly prick to attention. 

          "Where are we going?"

          "Down to the lake. It's lovely this time of year."

          Astrid shakes her head. "Of course you have a lake."

          "What? A guy can't live alone and have a full life?"

          "Apparently, you can."

          He shrugs again, carefully stepping onto the path and walking smoothly down towards the water's edge. Her breath leaves her in a startled gasp when she sees the lake. It's so clear, she can see the fish swimming in the bottom. 

          "It's beautiful."

          "Glad you think so."

          He hands her a pole and he sits down. She peers down over the rocky edge of the water, noting that it drops off as soon as the rock ends. Toothless slides into the water and Hiccup eases his armor off. She stares a little at his back, his lean muscle shifting underneath his scars as he lowers himself into the water. He relaxes and swims away from the edge. 

          "Come on, Astrid. The water's warm!"

          Astrid tilts her head. "Why?"

          "There's a hot spring at the bottom. Just come on!"

          Astrid takes off her boots, carefully stepping into the water up to her knees. "My clothes are going to get all wet."

          "I doesn't matter. You can borrow some of mine."

          "I think it's sad that we used to be the same clothing size." 

          Hiccup carefully treads water with his good arm and she comes over to join him. 

          "You probably could have left your armor on the shore."

          Astrid shakes her head and Hiccup slips under the water far a few seconds. Just as she starts to get a bit worried, even though she can clearly see that he's fine, he comes up again, smiling at her. 

          "Sorry. Had to get all the dragon saliva off me. Toothless thinks a tongue bath constitutes a good clean."

          "To him it probably is."

          Water drips down his face and he flicks the hair out of his eyes. 

          "You know, for only having one usable arm and one leg, you swim pretty well."

          "I've had a couple years of practice, Astrid. I've fallen into the water a couple times. Nothing too serious."

          She's about to respond when there's a horrible wail of pain and Hiccup startles, swimming quickly back to the edge, jumping up and slipping his shoe and armor back on in a hurry. Toothless hauls himself out of the water, barely shaking the water off before Hiccup jumps on, lacing his armor up as they take off. 

          Astrid is a bit behind, Stormfly running to get a good start. When she catches up, Toothless is hovering over a ship about a mile off the inlet of the next island. The wailing is coming from a dragon. She sees Hiccup pull his cloak on, hood and mask coming up in smooth motions before he dives down. Toothless blasts at the ship and the controls for the netting snap off and a fire starts. Hiccup jumps onto the boat and Toothless glides around it, beating air only slightly to keep steady. Hiccup pulls a knife from his side as the crew start to attack him and he rolls out of the way, throwing the knife and calling to Toothless for his sword. 

          Toothless grabs it in his jaws, tossing it to the deck and landing on the figurehead. Astrid is too stuck to move. Hiccup looks like he's dancing. A deadly, bloody dance, but still. His sword plunges into a man's shoulder and another's gut. He takes two quick steps back to avoid a crossbow bolt. Toothless fires off a shot at the man with the crossbow. 

          This fight is over before she even knows what was going on and Hiccup pulls three dragons from the hold. A Monstrous Nightmare rushes past her and Hiccup passes off one of the dragons to him, Toothless coming down to help with the second. 

          "Astrid!"

          She flies down and Stormfly picks up the third, a slim gray dragon. 

          When Toothless gets up into the air, Hiccup groans, clutching his left side. Toothless moans to check on him and Hiccup shakes his head. 

          "Just get back to the cave. We can worry about me later."

          Three more dragons fly up and Hiccup orders them to sink the boat. Blood coats Hiccup's fingertips and she can see the pain in his eyes. When they get back to the cave, Toothless flies up to a fourth level that Hiccup hadn't shown Astrid and Stormfly follows, putting the other dragon down next to the first two.

          Hiccup checks the other dragons over and they look up at him tiredly. "It's okay." he murmurs, pulling his hood and mask down. "I'm not going to hurt you."

          Astrid can see the gentleness in his care for the dragons, and he tends to them until Astrid pulls him away, helping him tug his armor off and patching him up. "Are you okay?"

          "Fine." Hiccup says. 

          "You were stabbed."

          "Not like it's the first time." Hiccup huffs, pointing her to the stitches in the hidden cleft above her head. "Toothless, bud, come lick this, would ya?"

          Toothless gladly obliges and Astrid stitches him up afterwards, helping him sit up. "You should be more careful."

          "I am. He caught me off guard."

          "You're still hurt, and you have a broken arm. What would you have done if you needed the other one?"

          "No idea." he looks up at her worried expression. "Astrid, I'm fine. I promise."

          "Okay."

          "It's probably a good idea if you stay away from here for a little while. New dragons, especially wounded ones can cause quite a ruckus. Besides, you've been gone for most of the day."

          Astrid nods. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

          "Yeah, just go. I'll catch up with you some other time."

          Astrid quickly rides Stormfly back to the hollow and she flies off once Astrid is clear, grabbing her ax and sword and rushing back home. There are fires still burning, though the sunset has been over for some time. She goes straight home and climbs the side of her house, slipping into bed and feigning sleep. Soon enough, it becomes real.

          She wakes in the morning feeling like she's run through the endless halls of Valhalla. Groaning, she picks up her ax and sword, heading down to the training ring. Stoick hasn't let anyone graduate from training since Hiccup left. 

          The twins are the first to pick up on her weary state. "Hey, where have you been?" Tuff asks, his suspicious drawl barely drawing her attention. 

          "Yeah, we saw you sneak off before noon yesterday and you never came back. Got a secret boyfriend, Astrid?"

          "Would it be your business if I did?" Astrid growls, dropping her ax and swinging her sword.

          "Awesome! Nice sword, Astrid. Where'd you get it?" Fishlegs grins, getting in close to look at the blade. "Is that dragon skin? Cool!"

          Snotlout scowls. "Hey, why is it all about Astrid all of a sudden. I'm cool too, you guys."

          "Shut up, Snotlout." Astrid huffs, rolling her eyes at him.  _Stupid._

      When she faces the Nadder in the cage, she knows that she can't use any of the tricks that she learned with Stormfly. Stoick would probably cast her out as soon as he saw anything even resembling what Hiccup had done.

         After training, he fills their next week with a hundred chores to keep them busy. Dragons had taken his wife, and then his son. He was not about to lose his village to Hiccup's delusions of a peace with beasts. 

          Raids still happen on occasion, and Stoick wants to strike back at where they are coming from. There aren't many, not like before. It seems that a den of them have picked Berk as an easy target. He spends the next three months planning how to get rid of their problems. Mostly, dragons.

          He's musing over how best to deal with them when Spitelout rushes in and claims that they found the den. Stoick stands and calls for an attack party. He orders them to take the dragons alive, putting his helmet on.

          "At dawn tomorrow, we'll kill them and display them for their friends to see. They'll not attack again."

          They storm the den and take three Nadders, and Nightmare, and a pair of Terrors. As soon as stoick makes the announcement for his plans, Astrid flees towards the hollow. She runs as fast as her legs will carry her and calls out for Stormfly. It takes too long, she feels, the sun already setting low in the sky when Stormfly shows up.

          She knows the way well by now and Hiccup is training on the shore when she breaks through the smoke. "Hiccup!"

          He pauses, looking out at her before calling for Toothless and sheathing his sword. "Astrid. It's been a while."

          "No time for pleasantries, Hiccup. Stoick caught six dragons and he's going to kill them tomorrow morning. You need to help them!"

          Hiccup pats Toothless' head. "I need everyone, bud. Now!"

          Within a few minutes, every able dragon is standing ready. Hiccup explains in simple terms the rescue mission. "Remember, if we get shot down, go for Toothless first." He looks to Astrid. "Can you make paint?"

          "Yeah, why?"

          "We need to cover all their white stomachs. It'll go faster if you can paint too."

          "It could still take a couple hours."

          Hiccup nods. "We'll have darkness on our side then."

          He's not wrong. It's the stroke of midnight when they come in over Berk. Astrid's blonde hair is covered in soot, and her face is just as bad. The dragons are all tied down in the square, calling out for help.

          Hiccup had skipped the cloak, keeping to a small skiff that still provided a hood. He would not get caught by it somehow.

          "Bud, call for the distraction."

          He rumbles to the dragon next to him and there's a murmur of corresponding chitters that follow. The Gronkles lead the way, spitting molten rock at torches far off. Soon enough, the torches go up and Hiccup prays that the black paint will work. He and Toothless make a loop around, rising high in the sky before plummetting towards the steel wagon filled with dragons. The air screams around his ears and he can hear the familiar shouts on the ground.

          "NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!"

          There's gasps of terror and Toothless fires off a shot at the wagon. As Toothless is making a loop, Hiccup's breath is stolen from his chest as he sees the chief of Berk stride out into to street. Toothless makes another pass and Hiccup sees the steel cage on its side, one wheel missing, the others bent and smoking. There's a huge hole in the side and the dragons crawl out. Relief swells in his chest.

          He hears a noise and turns, seeing launchers. "Toothless, warn them, there's nets!"

          The undulating sound emanates from his throat and most of the dragons pull up, becoming dark shadows. There's dragons shrieking towards the left flank and Hiccup turns. "Come on. We gotta get everyone out."

          Hiccup keeps an eye on Stoick. If anyone would be able to spot him, it would be the chief. He can almost hear Stoick as he takes over a bola launcher. He hasn't been spotted yet. Toothless sweeps low, ripping a net from one dragon and blasting a bola before it can hit another. 

          As Hiccup comes in for a third pass, he can see the determined glint on Stoick's eyes, even from a distance, that tells Hiccup all he needs to know. He found his silhouette. 

          "Up! Up, bud!"

          Toothless swoops and Hiccup can hear the bola coming.  _We're going to get hit!_ Hiccup locks Toothless' fin into its most adaptable position and unclips from the saddle. 

          "Don't flap your wings, Toothless. Pretend to crash."

          He evens out just as the bola wraps around Hiccup's shoulders. He's torn from Toothless' side and pain beats down his spine with the harsh jerk of motion. Toothless shrieks, knowing he can't turn back. Hiccup watches the pale shadows of dragons fly over his head to go after Toothless and then he hits the cobblestone. His head smacks against the ground, the leather acting as a slight buffer. Every breath is painful and Hiccup lies on the ground, unmoving. 

          "Leave his mask, but take his weapons." Stoick says.

          "He's covered in pockets and seams!" Spitelout growls. 

          Hiccup would know that voice anywhere.

          "Then take his armor! I want his weapons out of reach." 

          Hiccup can barely feel the string of his leathers being tugged apart and torn from his frame. There's murmuring over his scars and he waits for Stoick's verdict. 

          "Get him up by his wrists. Bring him to the square."

          Vaguely, he hears Astrid calling for Stoick to stop. "Stoick! You don't want to do this!"

          "I don't want to find out who's been terrorizing my village?"

          They tie a rope around each wrist, knotting them tight and jerking him roughly to his feet. Hiccup groans, but stands. He struggles against their brute strength, but they drag him forward. The light of the fires basks everything in an orange glow around him. When they reach the center of the village, the two men get him on his knees and keep his arms out away from his body.  _No tricks._

          "Your scars tell a harsh tale. Do you think that gives you the right to raid Berk for supplies?" Stoick says loftily, his questions already well planned out in his head.

          "I didn't." Hiccup says calmly, lowering his tone on the off chance that Stoick might recognize his voice.

          "What did you come for then?"

          "I came to help the dragons you were going to kill. Job done."

          "The dragons you told to raid our village, burn our homes and pick off our livestock?! You came to help those beasts?"

          "I didn't tell anyone to do anything!" Hiccup denies. "I don't control them!"

          He can see Stoick's gears turning. "You know, I'd be more inclined to believe you if I hadn't just shot you out of the sky." 

          Hiccup laughs lowly. "Oh yeah. All glory to Stoick the Vast, protector of the innocent."

          "You think you know who I am, boy? I've been killing dragons since long before you were ever born. I know your type. You lie and steal, claiming that it's for the better. You raid us because you can, not for anyone but yourself."

          "I didn't lead the raids." Hiccup growls.

          "You didn't have to. Your kind are the people in the shadows, and I always keep an eye on the shadows because I know the sorry wretches who hide in them trying to steal from my people."

          Hiccup chuckles, the sound rumbling deep in his own chest so solidly that it shocks even him. "Oh, Stoick. You haven't known me for years."

          His eyes widen and his huge hand comes to pull his hood and mask down. Hiccup stiffens under his touch, but holds composure. As the mask and hood fall around his shoulders, there are gasps from the people, but Hiccup only stares coldly up at Stoick. He looks down at Hiccup's scars and back to his face, the two scars over his left eye and the marred state of the right side of his jaw holding his attention.

          "I told you, Stoick. I didn't lead the raids. I'm not stealing from you. I came for the dragons and the dragons only. This is my first time on Berk since I was outcast."

          Stoick is still silent. Hiccup doesn't bother hiding his gaze, waiting for Stoick's decision. "Son." Hiccup frowns and Stoick gives himself a shake, regaining his train of thought. "Put him in a cell."

          Metal bars and complete darkness flash in his mind and Hiccup rams into overdrive, his breathing picking up and his eyes widening with panic. " _No._ "

          Stoick doesn't hear him, waving a hand to dismiss them and turning away to think. Hiccup struggles, doing the last thing anyone on Berk would expect. He fights them. He jerks, trying to get away. Spitelout pulls harder and so does the other viking. Hiccup kicks out at the other viking and he stumbles away, dropping his rope. 

          "Hiccup!" Astrid yells. 

          "Astrid!" Hiccup calls back, fumbling as Spitelout twists around his back to grab the other rope. 

          "Hiccup! Stoick, let me go!"

          He staggers a step and doesn't get the chance to right himself before Spitelout wrestles him to the ground. The cobblestone is hard against his back and Hiccup squirms, curling his legs and kicking at him. 

          "Hiccup!" Stoick growls. "Stop."

           _No. No, no, no. I'm not going. Not going. Not again._

          Hiccup twists, elbowing Spitelout in the face and turning over to run. The other viking that had been holding him takes a step closer and Hiccup growls at him to stay back. 

          "Hiccup, look out!" Astrid shouts. 

          "I'm sorry, son."

          And then darkness. Astrid looks on with horror as Hiccup crumples to the ground. The viking holding onto her lets go and she runs to Hiccup's side. Stoick picks him up in his arms, his form still so slight compared to everyone else. He looks around at the people and then down at his son. Astrid glares at him. 

          "You should have let him go."

          Stoick sobers, turning from the scene while the two vikings Hiccup wrestled off (Stoick is still wondering how) pick themselves up. Astrid follows after grabbing his armor from the street. Stoick doesn't look concerned at all at Hiccup's reaction to Stoick's verdict, and she thinks for a moment that he didn't realize it. 

          "Stoick, you can't lock him up."

          "No?"

          "When he wakes up, he will freak out. This is more serious than you realize."

          "I think you've got it backwards. You  _knew_ he was coming here tonight. Don't think I can't see that."

          "I don't think  _you_ see what you're going to do to Hiccup if you throw him in a cell. You can see his scars. It's all right there. Think about this for a moment!" she says, her voice raising as she tries to stop him from heading down to the cells under Meade Hall. 

          "Get a blanket, Astrid."

          She has that much to comfort her anyway. She rushes to do as he asks, putting his armor down on a table and Stoick opens up a cell door. All sense of relief leaves her. He hadn't listened to a word she said. 

          "Astrid, put the blanket down on the bed." she doesn't move. "Astrid!"

          "No. I won't help you lock him up." she drops the blanket on the floor and Stoick sets Hiccup down on the bed with the gentleness of a father.  _Oh, wait!_ "He's your son!"

          "That is why I will be right here when he wakes up."

          Astrid relaxes a smidge. "It's still a bad idea."

          "I'll handle any problems when he wakes. Just relax, Astrid. Go talk to your friends."

          Reluctantly, she leaves and Stoick settles down on the bed, leaving the cell door wide open. Hiccup curls up into a ball on the bed and Stoick carefully rests his large hand on his head. It seems to rouse him a little, but he stays under. He's so warm, Stoick thinks at first he might have a fever. 

          "Oh, my son. I'm sorry it came to this."

          Stoick rises from where he's seated, pacing around the room. He doesn't notice when Hiccup comes around nearly ten minutes later, but he can hear the uptick in breathing and suddenly there's quiet sobs, muffled by fabric. He turns, seeing Hiccup curled on the far corner of the bed with his head between his knees. 

          " _Oh gods, gods._ " he tugs on his hair. " _No, no, gods, no. Oh gods._ "

          "Hiccup?"

          His breaths are shaky, but he looks up. "Dad, what-" he wipes his face, looking at the cell bars and back to Stoick. He's shaking, terrified, and his voice is small as he asks what's on his mind. _"W-why? Oh gods._ "

          Stoick hates seeing his son so distraught. "You were causing a scene, Hiccup."

          He looks down at the ropes still tied to his hands and he gulps down breaths of air. Stoick doesn't think he even realizes that he's not tied down. His gaze flicks to Stoick and he's shocked by the amount of fear there as he starts to shake. 

          "Easy, lad. Calm down." Stoick says softly, sitting on the bed next to him and watching as Hiccup squeezes as far into the corner as he can,  _away_ from Stoick. "I'm not going to hurt you."

          Stoick takes his wrists and Hiccup flinches. He looks so small, and his green eyes are screwed shut. He gently unties Hiccup's wrists and the boy quickly snatches them away, ducking his head again and burying his face behind his legs. Stoick cautiously puts a hand on his knee and Hiccup jumps as if he'd been struck, his shoulders shaking as he cries.

          Stoick feels a prick of awkwardness, but he tugs Hiccup away from the wall. He makes a keening noise and Stoick unexpectedly aches with his son's pain, his fear of his own father making him hurt in a way only comparable to nearly losing him as a baby. 

          "I'm not gonnae hurt you, Hiccup. Easy, lad." Stoick says, quieting him as best he knows how. 

          Hiccup doesn't quiet. Stoick rubs his back, trying to get him to calm down, but if anything, his rough, calloused hands make it worse. He leans away from Stoick, trembling, waiting, but Stoick is having none of it. He picks Hiccup up, ignoring his panicked yelp and carrying him from the room. He stoops to pick up the blanket Astrid had dropped and continues on his way upstairs. The hall is still empty and Stoick puts Hiccup down so that he's sitting on top of the table, feet on the bench with his elbows resting on his knees. His head is bowed, and his shoulders still shake with the tears he's still trying so hard to conceal. 

          "Son-"

          "Don't. Just don't. You have no idea what it was like to- to-" he breaks off, shaking his head. "They wanted to know how to tame dragons so that they could catch, kill, and sell them. And when I refused?"

          "I don't understand why you're so loyal to those beasts." Stoick huffs. 

          Hiccup's head jerks up. "Because they're loyal to me! I spent  _two months_ in a cell, and you know who came to get me? Not vikings, not my so-called 'friends', and  _definitely_ not you! It was the dragons."

          "Hiccup-"

          "No. I don't care!" Hiccup shouts, jumping up from the table. "I don't want to hear it!" Stoick is startled by his change in demeanor, tears still falling from his frightened green eyes. "I don't need excuses. I just need to leave."

          "Hiccup, you can't leave."

          "And why in Odin's name not? I'm outcast, aren't I? I'm not even supposed to be here!"

          Stoick shakes his head. "And whose fault is that?"

          "You think it's my fault that you outcasted me? You think it's my fault that the Red Death was sending dragons to raid Berk? You think it was  _my fault_ that you nearly got an entire village killed because of your ego?! You never listened to me! Not even when it mattered, so you tell me where this is my fault!" his voice cracks and his face falls. "So whose fault is  _this_? It's yours." he says quietly. 

          Stoick isn't so blind that he can't see that. "I'm sorry, son."

          Hiccup lets out a short bark of laughter. "Sorry? Is that supposed to fix things? Two years, and you expect a simple 'Sorry' to fix everything?"

          "No. I never expect that. Not with other chiefs who have problems, and certainly not with you."

          Hiccup chuckles, though the sound is almost sour. "No, that move never worked with you either."

          "I suppose we have that in common then." 

          Hiccup's scoff is biting. "Whoo. For once in my life, I have common ground with my dad. I never thought I'd see  _that_ day."

          Stoick's brow furrows and he takes a step closer to Hiccup, who, upon seeing it, takes a defensive step back. "Hiccup, it's all right."

          "Is it?" Hiccup says, breaking off and whispering it again, but so much softer that Stoick can barely hear. 

          "What do you expect me to say, son?"

          "I don't know, maybe 'Get out, and stay gone'."

          Stoick's brow lowers. "Why would I say that?"

          "It would sure make my life easier. I could just leave and pretend this whole thing never happened."

          "Since when have you ever made anything easy, Hiccup?"

          He startles a laugh out of Hiccup. "Never." he runs a nervous hand through his hair and wipes his eyes, sniffling. It's a long, long few moments before Hiccup lets out a noise that sounds very much like a hiccup in its own right. "I'm not going back downstairs, dad." he rubs his bare arms and the insides of his wrists as if being so vulnerable is making him itch.

          Stoick plays with the blanket in his hands for a few moments before taking cautious steps closer to Hiccup. Hiccup doesn't back up this time, but he gets a panicked light to his eyes as Stoick gets close enough to tower over his lean frame. He backs off after handing Hiccup the blanket and gives him another appraising glance. 

          "You've gotten so tall."

          "Compared to who?" Hiccup grouses, walking pensively over to the wall and back as he shrugs the thick blanket over his shoulders.

          Stoick laughs. "You, of course. Last time I saw you, you were barely to the top of my belt. Now look at you."

          Hiccup huffs. "Yeah, now I'd fit squarely under your armpit.  _Yay!_ " he rolls his eyes, his head shaking right along with his hands as he feigns excitement. 

          "When did you get this snippy, son? I certainly don't remember this amount of attitude when you were still living here on Berk."

          Hiccup snaps his fingers. "I think I fit in lessons between torture." Stoick's expression shifts. "Don't worry. They weren't fans either."

          Stoick frowns. "You're awfully blase about this."

          The tremor that runs down Hiccup's spine is Stoick's only clue as to how uncomfortable he really is. "It's that or cry, and since we already tried that...." Hiccup shrugs.

          "Hiccup." Stoick admonishes. "This is your life we're talkin' about."

          "Ah. See, I know that, seeing as how I lived it."

          Stoick pulls his helmet from his head and places it down on the table. "Son, you don't understand. The captain of the ship you were on-"

          "I know. He was here." Hiccup scowls. 

          "I'm going to assume Astrid told you, considering the fight she put up to try to help."

          Hiccup gives one short nod as an answer. 

          "He's still here. Probably saw you in the square. He made contact with some old friends, and they arrived a couple days ago to pick him up. He was still packing when they showed up." Hiccup goes so rigid, Stoick is afraid he might be stuck there. "Son?"

          "I have to get out of here."

          "I can let you leave."

          Hiccup laughs. "At this point, I doubt you could stop me."

          Stoick raises a brow. "Yeah?"

          "Yeah." Hiccup says slowly, reaching for his armor across the table.. "You want to know why?"

          "Why?"

          "Because I'm closer to the door." 

          Hiccup makes a run for it before Stoick even registers what he said, and he blinks. He gives chase after another second, and Hiccup is already out the door. He slides his armor on with ease, lacing it up with practiced hands. He can hear the door of the hall slam as Stoick follows after him and he slips in between two buildings. He heads down towards the docks, pulling his hood up and sliding down a plank roof. He drops onto the deck and slips underneath it. It's nearly dawn when he crawls out and starts to make his way back up. 

          He doesn't get far, a hand clamping around his mouth and dragging him back into the shadows. "Hello, boy."

          Hiccup stops, rigid with fear. He feels the top of a blade press up against his throat and he swallows. Thick rope wraps around his wrists and Hiccup is paralyzed as panic rushes through him. 

          "I sent word to my friends after I washed up here, you know. They arrived a few days ago, and I've been packing up to go with them. I think I just found my last bit of cargo."

          With his hands busy tying Hiccup up, Hiccup opens his mouth to scream. He doesn't get the chance, fingers closing around his throat so that all that comes out is a choked noise. 

          "You just wish I was that stupid, boy."

          He squeezes until black spots start to swim in Hiccup's vision and he starts to lose feeling in his body. When he lets go, Hiccup coughs, stumbling under his own weight. He takes in a rattling breath before making a run for it. He can hear the dock boards clanking with his pursuer's footsteps. 

          "Get him!"

          Hiccup leaps away from a second man, banging his elbows against the deck before scrambling to his feet. A yell leaves him as a bludgeon nearly clips him. He looks up, feeling air movement ahead, and barely sees the hilt of a sword before white fills his vision. When he can finally see again, everything is blurry. Someone is dragging him. Away from danger or to it, he's not sure. He can hear voices shouting to him, and he thinks one is his father, and another might be Astrid. 

          All he knows is that there's a lot of screaming when a black shadow swoops over their heads. " _Toothless._ " he says numbly. 

          He's dropped very suddenly and he feels the creaking wood of a boat under him. He can hear familiar splintering of wood somewhere in his vicinity, and something that feels oddly like blood lands on his face. There's a crooning noise and Hiccup blindly grabs for Toothless' harness, dragging himself up.

          He straps himself in and he and Toothless race away with his father (he thinks it's his father) calling after him. He fades in and out of consciousness the whole way back, and he barely manages to land Toothless without crashing them both into the side of the volcano.

          Hiccup is still too dazed to panic, and Toothless doesn't let him off until they reach the nest. He licks the blood off of Hiccup's forehead, crooning gently and trying to sooth him as he starts to shake. The other dragons start to come out into the light now that Toothless is back. He had made them all go back to the cave once they had helped him land safely. 

          When Hiccup goes still and quiet under his wing, Toothless noses at his hair. His breathing is soft. He would probably realize what almost happened again in the morning and he would have a few moments of weakness. Toothless is determined to be there when he succumbs to them.

          The six new dragons skitter closer, being pushed by the others to face Toothless. Toothless gazes at them, watching. Hiccup groans, shifting closer to Toothless and he's momentarily distracted, leaning down to lick Hiccup's hair. The six standing in front of his nest seem intrigued and Toothless growls low in his throat, warning off any funny business.

          Only the Fire-scale doesn't seem to take his warning seriously, a challenge coming from his chest. Toothless stands, anger dripping off of him in waves and he takes menacing steps towards the intruder.  _You want him, you'll have to go through me._

          The Fire-scale makes a scoff-like noise.  _It shouldn't be too hard. You can't even protect your tiny human._

          Toothless roars at him, the sound loud as it seems to crash around the room. Hiccup rouses a little under Toothless' coiled body and the Fire-scale smiles as Toothless curls his tail around him. 

           _Someone should have killed the runt long ago. He turned you soft._

    There are growls all around him and Toothless' lip curls as his own snarls join them.  _You won't touch him._

          The five who arrived with the Fire-scale crouch low in submission and Toothless focuses his attention solely on the dragon before him. He orders the tan Spike-tail, which Hiccup had affectionately called Nutmeg, to watch over the small boy. The other dragons all back up as much as they can and Toothless looks up towards the nursery, calling up to the den mothers to keep their young out of the way. 

         Nutmeg gently picks Hiccup up by the collar of his armor, which serves as a fairly good scruff, lifting him out of the nest and back into the far reaches of the caverns below their claws where the Tunnelers are waiting as guards. Toothless glances back at his tail, the fin still locked right where Hiccup had left it when he slid off of his side. There are worse positions. He'll have some flight capability, at least. 

          He stalks around the cave, watching as some of the smaller dragons retreat to the upper levels. The Shocker that had nearly melted Hiccup's forge into iron sloop stays on the ground with his mouth open, providing light. The two Tree-cutters block the entrance with their large wings. Everyone else stays as far against the cave walls as they can so that the center circle is about a hundred feet across.

          Toothless stays at the outer edge of the ring while the Fire-scale muses about, seemingly uncaring of the challenge he has just brought on himself. He places two claws into the nest where Toothless and Hiccup usually sleep.  _Ah, so soft. Are you too good for the ground these days, Nightstalker?_

          Toothless doesn't respond.

          The Fire-scale bursts into flames, the nest becoming nothing but ash in a matter of seconds.  _It's too bad, really. A good nest is hard to find, these days._

          It's as the dragon is wandering around the large space that Toothless recognizes this dragon. He had been there on the day Toothless had defeated the Queen. Snotface....or whatever, had been on his back.  _What an awful tragedy for you. To have been so quickly cast aside by your human._

          The Fire-scale hisses.  _I don't belong to anyone. Not the Queen, not that sorry excuse for a viking, and not to you. That's why I'll be taking over this nest when you're dead._

          Toothless thinks about Hiccup down in the caves below his feet, completely oblivious to what's happening above him. Vulnerable. If the Fire-Scale gets through Toothless, the other dragons will have no choice but to let him do as he pleases as the new alpha.  _Not happening._

          The Fire-scale must note that Toothless isn't going to be goaded any further and he launches himself at Toothless. Toothless smacks his jaws aside with one paw and barrels into him, scratching at his unguarded chest. The Fire-scale howls with rage and the long claws on his feet work to push him off. It doesn't work well. The Fire-scale has more weight than Toothless, rolling so that Toothless is on the bottom and he tries to bite at his neck. The harness gets in his way, and Toothless only ever been more grateful for Hiccup for when he enabled him to fly. His hind legs rake across Toothless' flank and Toothless lets a blast leave his mouth. The Fire-scale tumbles to the side, shaking his head to clear it. Toothless limps a little, but it's not bad. The Fire-scale twists his head oddly to get a good look at Toothless, half-blind now with the light floating in his eyes. 

         Toothless puts a tear in the Fire-scale's wing, and scores his claws across both knees. He stumbles, hooking into Toothless' ear with a claw as he flails. Toothless roars with pain, a high-pitched shriek leaving his mouth and stunning all the dragons around him, including the Fire-scale on the ground. He closes his eyes just as the Fire-scale jerks again, his claws cutting a line over Toothless' left eye. Toothless hops out of his reach just as his long tail flicks out to try to catch him. Blood drips down into his eye and he shakes his head. Closing it, he watches the Fire-scale writhe on the ground. He finally pushes past the pain in his legs and lifts from the ground. A column of fire rushes towards Toothless and he leaps out of the way. The dragon-skin tailfin holds. Again, Toothless is grateful for Hiccup.

          Toothless folds his wings against his body and he launches himself into the air, claws outstretched. The Fire-scale shrieks in terror as he's pulled to the ground, landing hard on his back as Toothless raises his claws for a killing blow across the Fire-scale's throat. 

          He yelps.  _Mercy, Nightstalker!_

          As Toothless considers, the Fire-scale whips his head to the side and knocks Toothless away with his horned crown. Toothless falls onto the strong structure of his wing and quickly climbs to his feet to protect his soft underbelly. The Fire-scale struggles to turn over while Toothless charges a blast in his mouth. It's not quite enough to kill, but it'll hurt.

          He lets it fly. 

          The Fire-scale wails as it hits, bursting into flames before flickering out as he staggers, dropping onto his side. Toothless pins his wings and hisses at the Fire-scale.  _Coward._

          The Fire-scale says nothing, knowing that he's beaten.

           _Leave here, and never return._

          The Tree-cutters move away from the entrance and the Fire-scale flees as fast as he's able. When he's sure that the dragon is gone, he gives the all clear and the others start to creep into the light. The Shocker closes his maw and Toothless gives him leave to go fish. The two dragons brush against each other on their way by out of respect, the lighter of the two leaving the cave.

          He hears a familiar squawk and he turns his head, ears lifting as Nutmeg carefully walks back into the cave, Hiccup hanging from his jaws. He's still unconscious, and Toothless gently takes Hiccup from him. He lowers him to the floor, retracting his teeth before scooping the boy up by his middle and padding lightly over to the forge. The blanket Hiccup had made is draped over the back of his chair and Toothless rumbles to a pair of Piglets, or what Hiccup refers to as 'Terrors'. Toothless still has no idea why.

          They get the blanket out on the floor and Toothless lies down in it, Hiccup curling between his front paws. It's a little comical that he still fits almost as well and he did two years ago, even with his recent growth spurts. Toothless purrs, resting his head on Hiccup's lean frame and listening to him breathe. Inside, he burns to have known that he came so close to losing the boy. The captain never should have made it to Berk.

          It doesn't matter. He won't be going anywhere ever again, unless it's to the bottom of the ocean when the other humans dispose of his body.

          Restless, he starts to lick at Hiccup's hair, making it spike up in odd directions. He can still taste blood in Hiccup's hair from his head wound and he continues to clean it out. Hiccup doesn't move, only a soft groan leaving his mouth as Toothless licks at the wound.  _You have to be more careful, Hiccup._

          "What do you mean?" Hiccup murmurs, not really awake, but sort of lucid. "I'm careful."

          Toothless is a little surprised, but he doesn't move.  _Then why do you get hurt so much?_

          Hiccup shrugs, eyes opening a crack, and Toothless licks at his hair. "Buuud." Hiccup whines. 

           _Just rest. Rest. You'll feel better soon._

          His eyes close and he's quiet before murmuring. "Maybe."

          Toothless doesn't like his attitude, but he continues to sooth Hiccup's anxiety. The small boy relaxes and Toothless croons. He doubts Hiccup will remember any of this when he wakes up. What he's worried about is the feverish feel to Hiccup's skin. He's getting awfully warm. Toothless pulls him closer, carefully licking as the sweat starts to build on his forehead. A comforting whine leaves him and Hiccup presses into his warmth. 

          He murmurs in his sleep, nightmares plaguing him and small distressed sounds coming from his mouth. Toothless quiets him, shifting a bit to curl the small boy into his side rather than his chest. He covers him with a wing the keep the heat better and rests his head by his paws. He shuts his eyes, listening to the commotion around the cavern as dragons come in and out. A few comes by to check up on Hiccup, Nutmeg in particular. 

          His fever breaks at about noon, the morning hours some of the longest Toothless has ever experienced. The Shocker brings him back a few fish, but after listening to Hiccup, he finds he's not very hungry. 

          Hiccup wakes with a start, and Toothless raises his wing to see Hiccup blinking and glancing around. He sounds a little congested when he says, "How did I get here?"

          Toothless purrs, nudging him with his large head, deciding to indulge on Hiccup's newfound understanding of.  _We flew, of course. How else?_

          "I know, but..." he presses a hand to his head, wincing. "Ow."

           _You were hit on the head._

          "Understatement, much? Ugh." Hiccup rubs his face. "My head feels disgusting."

           _You had a fever._ Toothless rumbles, licking the side of his face gently.

          "How bad?"

          Toothless gives him a look. Hiccup sighs, rubbing his eyes and trying to fix his hair before pulling his hands away in disgust. He squints, trying to remember, and Toothless can tell the exact moment he figures it out. He takes a few stunted breaths, swallowing. 

          "Oh gods, Toothless." Toothless nuzzles his face and Hiccup turns, a guttural groan leaving his throat. He clutches to the leather straps of Toothless' harness. "I-oh gods, it almost-" he presses against Toothless' flank, choking on a sob. "-all over again. Can't."

          Toothless doesn't try to respond, only licking at his face as tears start to fall. If Hiccup were in a better mood, he might complain. Instead, he lets Toothless lick his face. He gives himself a shake. 

          "Come on, bud." he says, sniffling. "I need to clear my head." Toothless obliges, letting Hiccup hop on before he gets up. There's a bit of a shake to him, but once they're up in the air, he seems better. "Whew. That was close, Toothless. Let's not ever, ever, _ever_ do that again."

          Toothless croons in agreement. He tries a few times to project to him, but now that he's in a healthier state, he can't seem to hear him. Toothless knows where he's going, and Hiccup lets him take over the gentle steering to get there, leaning backwards until he's resting along Toothless' spine. 

          "What am I going to do, bud? I can't just-" he growls, frustrated with himself. "I jump and flinch at everything. I could barely let my own father close enough to give me a blanket because he's the size of three of me!"

           _Me?_ Toothless croons, lifting his head to peer at him. 

          Hiccup sighs, patting his side. "Not you, bud. I know you'd never hurt me. I'd never hurt you either."

          Toothless cackles a bit at that.  _You shot me out of the sky._

          "You calling me a liar?" Hiccup huffs. "I mean, I did shoot you down, but you were attacking my village." Toothless growls. "I know, I know. You had to, but-"

          Toothless shakes his head, letting Hiccup ramble on. He's never surprised at Hiccup's inherent awkwardness.

          Finally, Hiccup groans, sitting back up. "I'm a coward, Toothless."

          Toothless croons, wholly disagreeing with him. Still, he settles down calmly in the clear spring on the far side of the volcano. The water is freezing, as usual, and Hiccup gives himself a good wash. Toothless is doubtful as to how good of a wash it provides, since his licking does just as well. Hiccup isn't convinced, even after two years. The saliva always sticks to his skin, giving him an overall feel of grossness. 

          Toothless is sure that one day, he'll stop minding it.

          Over the next few days, Astrid doesn't come to visit, and Toothless nearly orders Stormfly to go after her, seeing as she's been prowling around the nest like a restless den mother. She leaves of her own volition after another week. 

          Hiccup gets better quickly, and he starts going about routine as usual. Well, if routine as usual involves a monstrous white beast with red eyes and a whippy tail. He makes himself a lovely den right next to his mother. Toothless hadn't been surprised, since its mother was friendly with Hiccup anyway.

          A moon passes and Hiccup picks out a few choice sheep to go to market, slipping his cloak around his shoulders and tugging his hood up. Dropping his livestock, Toothless lands next to them and hurries into the small cave where he'll be waiting for Hiccup to return. Hiccup leads the sheep towards his carefully-chosen vendor, people shying out of his way as they note the sword at his side and the shadows crossing his face. Everyone in the market is bigger than he is, so he's not quite sure what they're seeing in him. 

          Ajay is just clearing up a sale when he walks in. "Mornin', sir. What can I-" he cuts off, seeing Hiccup's dark figure in his doorway. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the Wraith."

          Hiccup tugs his hood down. "I'm not a wraith, Ajay."

          "Of course not, Hiccup. That's just your reputation." he chuckles, pushing his papers from the desk and catching his red beard in the process. 

          Hiccup laughs, running a quick hand through his hair. "I don't have a reputation. Nobody knows who I am."

          Ajay grins, his fluffy eyebrows lifting and his wide face stretching to match his grin. "That's exactly why you have a reputation, boy. Now, what do you have today?"

          Hiccup sits down on the seat across from Ajay. "What, no small talk, old pal? People might start to think our friendship is based solely on trade."

          "Ah, there's nothing to talk about. The most interesting thing around here lately has been a commission for fishing boats to be rebuilt. It seems there's dragons out there destroying them all." Ajay eyes him. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you? I hear you live around there somewheres."

          Hiccup shrugs. "Maybe. Maybe not. I've got three sheep outside ready to be sold."

          "Marked?"

          "Yep. Good old Hiccup crest, you know?"

          "I tell you what, Hiccup. I'll give you ten pieces for each of those if you tell me how you grow them so big and fluffy."

          Hiccup laughs. "All in the technique. It's a trade secret, sorry friend."

          Ajay sniffs, mock affronted. "Well then, seven pieces each, boy."

          Hiccup nods. "Sounds good to me. I've also got some dyes with me. Red, green, purple..." Hiccup smirks, putting the three pouches out on the table.

          "And?"

          "Black."

          Hiccup lifts a fourth pouch, which Ajay reaches for. "Boy, I don't know how you do it, but it's always something new from you."

          "Ah, ah, ah."

          "Six pieces for the black, four for the other three."

          "Deal. I've also got these." Hiccup says, placing a small bag onto the table. 

          Ajay pulls the bag close, dumping out the contents. Four daggers clunk onto the wood and and Ajay picks them up to examine them. He bites one, and Hiccup winces in sympathy as he recoils from the hard metal. He slides his fingers along the sharp blades, drawing blood on one when he stops being careful. 

          "Three pieces for each of them." Hiccup reclines, raising his brow. Ajay sighs. "You got somethin' special here, Hiccup?"

          "It's made of a rare metal, forged in the fire of Gronkles, so yeah, I'd say so."

          Ajay raises a brow. "You didn't get to close, did you? That how you got your leg?"

          Hiccup smirks, crossing his arms over his chest as he leans against the back of the quiet business booth. "Something like that."

          He gives Hiccup a long look. "And those scars on your face?"

          Hiccup shakes his head, leaning forwards and clasping his hands together in front of him. "I'm not here to talk about me, Ajay. I'm here to trade."

          "Hey." Ajay says lowly. "I'm not prying, or tryin' to interrogate you. There's no need to be so defensive. You're lucky I'm doing business with you at all, Mr. Outcast."

          Hiccup closes his eyes and bows his head a little. "Sorry, Ajay. It's just.... a long story."

          Ajay nods. "I can see that." he rises from the table. "Alrighty, then. I'll go get you your pieces." he straightens his belt and ruffles Hiccup's hair, turning to his desk.

          Hiccup sighs, leaving his seat and tugging his hood back over his head. He takes the pouch of coins from Ajay, not bothering to count it. It makes Ajay feel trusted, but Hiccup will count it later.

          "That's sixty-three pieces for you, boy. You're good for business."

          Hiccup huffs, tying the pouch to his side. "Never been accused of that."

          "I'll make sure at least one of these sheep get to Berk. Irony, you know?"

          "Yeah. I'll see you later, Ajay. Take care of yourself."

          Ajay pats his back, and Hiccup hides hides his reaction in the shadow of his hood, heading out the door. Walking further into the marketplace, he stops at the jewelry hut, a small woman named Cressida running it. He slides out a few pieces of silver to pay her with, grabbing a blue geode, three amber gemstones, and a small ruby. They don't cost much, only three pieces, but she smiles at him.

          "They suit you."

          "Thank you." Hiccup says, dipping his head. 

          He picks up a few pieces of mutton, slinging the leather sack over his shoulder. He grabs a spool of thread and new needles of varying sizes. He even gets two new books, since life is pretty boring right now anyway. There's only so much a guy can do on an island. He can hear the quiet braying of lambs and strolls over to the pens. They are filled with perfect white fluff balls, except for the one black one he sees in the middle. He leans against the fence, and tentatively, the sheep come closer. He offers them a little hay, and they reach out eagerly. He pets the small black one and it bleats at him. He slides his bag of silver from his shoulder, pulling out four pieces to pay the seller. He picks up the lamb. It's smaller than the rest.

          "Hey there, little guy. Looks like you're coming home with me, yeah?"

          He situates his bags and then lifts the lamb up behind his head. He walks back through the market, keeping an eye out for any potential threats. He feels the wind swoosh behind him and he turns, securing the lamb's legs with one hand and pulling his sword with the other. He takes two swift steps back, angling his sword at the would-be pickpocket's throat. He's glad for the hood shadowing his face as he recognizes one Tuffnut Thorston. 

          "What do you think you're doing?" Hiccup growls. 

          Swinging his sword back, flat side out, he cuffs Ruffnut on the shoulder and pushes her towards her brother. 

          "Twins. How nice." Hiccup muses. 

          "Funwrecker." Tuffnut grouses.

          Hiccup grins under his hood, the sun shining off of his sharp blade. "I guess I am." 

          Tuffnut grimaces. "What are you gonna do? We were just trying to have a good time. All our friends are so boring, and the chief rarely lets us leave."

          Hiccup tilts his head. "I don't know yet."

          Ruffnut swallows. "Hopefully not anything that involves severed heads."

          Hiccup gestures with his sword. "Come on. Walk in front of me, and I might share."

          The twins laugh. "Cool." they fist bump. 

          As they take a step forwards, Hiccup stops them with his sword. "Ah, no. Around me."

          He shifts to the left, letting Ruff and Tuff around and they walk in front of him, nearly floating with excitement. He shakes his head, putting his sword away and giving them quiet directions back to the cave where he left Toothless. He jumps out to meet Hiccup, growling at the two walking in front of him. 

          "Easy." Hiccup says. "Their friends. Idiots, but friends."

          There are two protests from the twins, but Toothless settles.

          "Get on." Hiccup orders.

          "Wait, what? I thought you were going to share your food, not kidnap us!" Tuff whines. Ruffnut says it might be fun.

          "I lied." Hiccup huffs, putting all of his goods into one bag.

          He uses the other two bags to blindfold Ruff and Tuff. They don't struggle, seeming to have taken Ruffnut's idea for fun as a blessing. Toothless doesn't complain about the weight, since the sheep were worse than two gangly teens. The lamb rides safely in front of him after he makes sure that the twins won't fall off. The ride is interesting, since the twins keep thinking of creative ways for Hiccup to mutilate or kill them. He sets down out in the pasture. He glances around.

          "You two, the drop is short to the ground. Still, be careful."

          He helps Ruffnut off first, then Tuff. He takes the bags off their heads and they look around. "This place is nature-y."

          Hiccup chuckles. "Yeah, I guess it is. I guess I have some rounding up to do. The yaks have disappeared again."

          The twins follow him closely as he checks the fences, watching his every move. Toothless moves towards the sheep where they're grazing together in the nearest corner of the pen. Hiccup snaps his fingers, remembering the lamb. He carefully picks it up, introducing him to the other sheep before hopping on Toothless and finding the yaks. The twins are still standing where he left them. 

          "Not to sound rude or anything, but are you just going to remain all serious an' stuff, or are you actually going to kill us?" Tuff glares. "I'm waiting for it."

          Hiccup's eyes widen a bit before he remembers what he must look like. "Right. Sorry, guys." he pulls his hood down and he grins as their jaws drop. "Always be careful who you try to steal from."

          "Hiccup." Tuff says dumbly.

          "That's me. Don't act so surprised."

          "Y-you raise sheep?" Ruffnut stammers. 

          "Yeah! And yaks! I feel so left out." Tuffnut grumbles, crossing his arms. 

          Hiccup laughs, a smile crossing his face. "You two haven't seen anything, yet. I'm sure there is someone here you'd like to see though. Toothless?"

          Toothless smiles his toothless smile and then roars up into the sky. It's quiet for the next few minutes before a vague shape starts to come in through the fog. Hiccup points it out and the twins do the rest. 

          "Is that-"

          "Barf and Belch, safe and sound." Hiccup nods.

          The dragon (dragons?) lands and the two bobbing heads greet Ruff and Tuff with excitement. Hiccup lets them get reacquainted with each other. He shows them the cave next, cooking his pieces of mutton in his small kitchen. The twins seem more interested in the nest. 

          "Dude, do you sleep in this?"

          Hiccup glances out at them, seeing them feeling the soft wool, cotton and leather inside. It's mostly wool. The dragons had rebuilt the nest very quickly after the dragon fight, though Hiccup still has no idea what even led up to it being destroyed in the first place. 

          "Yes, I sleep there."

          They look at him for a few long moments before cracking up. "You're their baby!" 

          Hiccup glowers. "All right, maybe I don't share."

          They go quiet in a hurry.

          Hiccup chuckles to himself, feeding the pair and then sending them home. They give their word that they won't tell Stoick about where Hiccup is and fly home on Barf and Belch, cackling like maniacs the whole way into the fog. He counts his remaining pieces, finding all fifty-two safe and sound.  _Trustworthy as ever, Ajay._

          He puts everything away in his forge, shedding his cloak and armor and preparing himself for the inevitable tongue bath. He only whines about it to exasperate Toothless. He's well and truly exhausted. The twins had kept him up later than usual, and the crowds at the market were taxing. He wasn't much of a social butterfly before, but he is much less so now. 

          Toothless is already waiting for him when he gets out there and Hiccup drops down into the nest, a groan leaving him as he rolls onto his side. Toothless croons, curling around Hiccup as he drifts off. He vaguely feels the rasp of Toothless' tongue on his side before he lapses into a fitful sleep. The next morning, Hiccup is not in any sort of mood to deal with chores or anything of the sort, so he takes Toothless out into the woods and settles into a soft patch of grass. He leans against Toothless' chest, opening one of his new books and paging slowly through it. Toothless, naturally, licks his hair when he stops reading, knowing that he's been distracted by his own thoughts. Despite how gross it is, Hiccup finds it comforting. The book drops onto his chest in the open position as he falls asleep again, finally relaxing for the first time since the market. 

          Toothless rumbles contentedly, Hiccup sinking deeper against his chest as a heavy breath leaves him.  _If only you could stay like this. You have suffered enough._

* * *

          

**Three years later**

          Wraith. It's the name that has been plaguing his ships. It's the name slowing his progress in building his dragon army. This  _master_ of dragons will not be a problem for much longer.

          He steps onto the dock at Kurius Island. He had heard rumors recently that Wraith does business on the island with a man called Ajay. He would have to find a few of the pieces that he made to see what kind of man he is. 

          As he wanders the market, his thick dragon skin cloak hanging down to the ground, he sees a few pens with different sheep in them. The first few all seem average until he finds a pen in the center where the sheep are bigger, bulkier, and better-looking that the rest. There's black paint on their sides, the image of a slotted sword bold against the pale sheep skin. He asks the vendor whose sheep they were before they came to market. 

          He's nearly shaking as he answers, the quiet voice of the large man intimidating him more than a loud one might have. "A-Ajay brought them to market. Bought them from a separate p-party."

          "And does this party have a name?"

          The man shakes his head. "N-no. All we know is that h-he wears a mask and hood. No one has s-seen his face. Not for years!"

          "And what else does he bring to market?"

          The vendor points a shaky hand over to a pen of black yaks, the sheen of their fur reflecting the early morning rays even in the mist of the morning. 

          "Is everything he brings high quality, or just the livestock?"

          "I-I don't know. I-I-"

          "Stop stuttering, fool. What is your name?"

          "Bornir, s-sir."

          The large man nods, tapping his heavy, pointed staff on the ground before shoving it up under his jaw. "Thank you for your help, Bornir." 

          Scarlet blood drips into the snow and he walks away from the vendor as he goes limp, his body dropping to the ground.

          The next two huts are not too far apart. The jeweler looks up as he comes to stand in front of her window. She doesn't try to pick out gems for him, only leaning a little forward to get a better look at his face. 

          "May I help you?"

          "Does a man named Wraith buy form your stores, my lady?"

          She shakes her head. "He shops over in the daggers and swords, searching for harder metals. I've seen him, but he has not come to my shop."

          He leaves her be, her small ramshackle looking to barely be a home as it is. Stopping over into the smithy, the gruff, soot-covered man meets his eyes. He's not intimidated by his size or his dark demeanor. 

          "Help you, sir?"

          "I'm looking for a man called Wraith. I've been told he stops here. Heard of him?"

          "Sure. He doesn't buy much, but he occasionally drops off a sword. I can't rework them because I can't get my forge hot enough to weaken the metal. Not that I'd have to. Fine swordsmith, that one."

          "Does he go by any other names?"

          "Nope. People call him Wraith and he doesn't bother to correct 'em. I think he finds it amusing."

          "When does he come in?"

          "Three times a year, maybe. He picks up some seed crops in spring, along with young livestock. He doesn't stop in here all that often." The man shrugs, turning back to his anvil before glancing back up. "Anything else I can help you with?"

          "I need to find Ajay."

          "He's in the hut at the end of the lane. That's actually where Wraith does most of his business. Got a specific project in mind?"

          "Yes. It's very time sensitive."

          "Then you're out of luck. Sorry, sir. He won't be back until the late season."

          The cloaked man growls to himself, sweeping out of the forge and down to the hut the blacksmith had indicated. He knocks on the panel when he sees that the shop is closed and a man comes to the door. He has a bushy red beard and the eyebrows to match. 

          "Hello. I'm afraid there's not much I can do for you today, sir."

          "I'm only looking for someone."

          "Name?"

          "Wraith."

          His brown eyes narrow. "And why would you be lookin'?"

          "I have something to speak to him about. I was also wondering if you had any information as to his real name."

          He hums, scratching at his beard.

          "May I come in?"

          "I think you'd best be on your way."

          The hulking man puts a hand on Ajay's shoulder, pushing him into his hut and shutting the door behind him. "I wasn't asking. I mean to find this Wraith. He's bad for my business."

          "Then you'll have to ask someone else."

          He chuckles lowly. "You misunderstand me. I will do whatever it takes." Ajay glares up at him even as his back is against the wall. "You have a family, don't you?"

          Ajay stills. "Why?"

          "Because if you don't give up your friend, I might just have to pay them a visit before I get back to you." He stubbornly clenches his jaw shut. The cloaked man sighs. "Let's go."

          He drags the man out into the street and heads towards the homes. He forces the man to point out his own and then kicks in the door.

          "We're home, my lady." the cloaked man grins. 

          Ajay struggles. "No! I won't tell you!"

          "What is this about, Ajay?" his wife asks, her voice quavering as she sees the walking stick, still coated in drying blood. "Ajay?"

          "He wants to know about Wraith." Ajay says shakily. 

          Her gaze turns steely and she pulls a sword from the wall. "Not if I have any say in it."

           _Interesting._ "And what makes you so loyal, my lady?"

          "He's the reason we live as well as we do. We owe him everything." she hisses.

          A tall girl moves out into the room and the cloaked man moves fast, dropping Ajay and snagging the girl, putting his spear to her throat. 

          "Do you owe him the life of your daughter?"

          He draws blood from her throat. It's not enough to kill her, but she hisses. "Dad?"

          He drags the girl towards Ajay, the wife still keeping her sword out in front her her, swearing that he'll die if he hurts her any more. Her blood drips onto his shoes and she squirms, tears building in her eyes. 

          "That's some loyalty." 

          He cuts the girl's arm and Ajay cringes at her scream.

          "Now, who is Wraith, and where can I find him?"

          The little girl's eyes widen at his name and she stops squirming. "You'll _never_ find him."

          He whirls, releasing the girl and cutting the wife's throat. The thud of her body sends a tremor through the girl and she curses at him, spitting insults. 

          He returns his spear to her neck. "I will end her life if you do not give me Wraith."

          It's awkward, but he stabs the hook of his spear into her shoulder and she screams. Ajay raises his hands.

          "Stop!"

          "Dad, don't!"

          "I'll tell you, but you have to let her go." she pleads with him. "Tsaka, please. You have to run."

          He lets go of her, and she shakes her head. He yells at her to run, and the panicked light in his eyes scares her enough to send her hurtling through the door, wiping the blood on her throat away with her hand.

          The spear in the cloaked man's hand comes to rest on his chest, the point threatening to break his skin. "So, who is he?"

          Ajay looks conflicted. "His- His name is Hiccup Haddock, and he's from Berk."

          "Hiccup?" he says softly, clipping both syllables. 

          Ajay chuckles. "He'll end you before you even get a chance."

          "Thank you for your help, Ajay. It really was a pleasure." he says lowly, jamming his spear into Ajay's chest, a loud scream tearing from his throat.

          Tsaka looks back at the sound from where she's running to the jewelry shop, her heart stopping in her chest and her hand clapping over her mouth. 

          The cloaked man shakes his head. "This could have gone better for you and your family if you had been cooperative." he lets the body drop from his spear. "It's too bad your daughter will have to die as well before I go."

          He strides from the house. Drago Bludvist knows the Wraith's name, and he is out for blood.

* * *

 

          Valka closes her eyes against the biting snow, glancing behind her to check and see if the king is still there. A deep reverberating moan tells her that he is, and that he's telling her to stop worrying. Their home had been destroyed after Drago and his Bewilderbeast had come in search of someone called Wraith. At first, he thought it was her, but there was no sign of a Night Fury. She doesn't know how anyone would even  _find_ a Night Fury.

          The two Bewilderbeasts had fought, and Valka had barely helped the king escape with his life. He was weak, and injured, but there was nowhere to stop. He had caught wind of a group of dragons and called out to them about an hour ago. Now, they're flying hard in front of them, leading them to what they hope is a safe place.

          She had done a count of her dragons, finding that nearly twenty of them were missing. The ones who couldn't fight or fly were quickly killed by Drago's men, only the blind Hobblegrunt surviving because of the king's careful instruction. The king rumbles, the sound almost keening. Cloudjumper veers, stopping next to the king as he dips one giant paw into the ocean. He can't swim in the water because the blood would attract unwanted attention, and he's barely flying in his injured state as it is. 

          He drops down into the shallows after the smaller dragons squawk at him.  _We're here._

          Valka watches as the rest of the dragons follow his lead, dropping into the water at the edge of the territory. The king bellows out a short call. Valka eyes the mouth of the cave warily. The volcano ahead of them is dark, and there is too much silence for her to be comfortable. It's a minute or so before dragons start to emerge, led by a dark shadow with blazing green eyes. Valka's eyes widen.  _A Night Fury._

          The dragon stoops respectfully to the Bewilderbeast and the king nods in turn. Dragons pour out of the cave, lining up behind Toothless like an army. The king and the alpha of the cave have a silent conversation, and Valka examines the Night Fury closely. There's something strange about him, almost misshapen in the way he's standing. His head is held high, and she tries to get a look at his neck. 

          The Night Fury relaxes and a crooning sound leaves his mouth. There's movement on his back and Valka is shocked when she sees a black mass separate from the Night Fury. Her first thought is that it might be his young, but she realizes that it's a rider. The Night Fury nudges him, pushing him towards the Bewilderbeast. Valka notes that he moves slowly, tugging his hood and mask down and dropping any weapons he has to the ground.  _He's just a young man._

          His auburn hair swishes with the wind, and his green eyes match so wholly to the Night Fury that it's startling. His expression is filled with awe, and the Bewilderbeast lowers his great head to greet the boy. He closes his eyes as a white cloud of mist leaves the king, shaking the frost from his hair. 

          "What are you doing here?"

          The Bewilderbeast rumbles, staring into the boy's eyes. 

          His jaw drops a little. "That's terrible. Are you hurt?"

          The king blinks slowly, acknowledging him, though Valka can tell he's a bit surprised. Obviously, the young man is not. The Bewilderbeast turns, staring at Cloudjumper. He creeps forwards, setting Valka on the first patch of dry land. She crawls towards the boy, her clicking staff beckoning Cloudjumper to follow. 

          "Who are you?"

          She doesn't speak, pulling closer to him. He watches her crawl around him with careful eyes. She tugs on one of his small braids. 

          "Hey!"

          As his mouth moves, a thin white scar becomes visible. Her breath catches in her throat. "Hiccup?"

          He takes a step away from her and the Night Fury growls. "Should I know you?"

          She pulls away, the ripped leather of her armor shifting as she moves to tug her helmet off. "You wouldn't." she looks down at the ground for a second, surprise and shock, and  _hope_ rushing through her. "But a mother never forgets."

          She stands to her full height, reaching a hand out to cradle the side of his face. 

          "I-I-I don't know how to process this." he turns away, running a hand through his hair. "You're my mother? My mother, who was eaten by dragons?" she comes around him so that she's facing him again. "What-  _how_ _?_ " the question is so soft as it leaves him that it sounds desperate.

          "I was carried away." There are tears building in his green eyes and her heart squeezes in her chest. "Hiccup?"

          " _You were gone._ "

          She quiets him. "I didn't want to stay away, but I thought- I thought that you'd be better of without me. My idea that we could live in peace was shameful, and I wanted you to grow up to be proud of who you were. I didn't want you to be stuck between two parents who wanted you to believe two things."

          His breaths come harder and his hand raises to grip his bangs. "I- you've been with dragons, this whole time?"

          Valka laughs shakily. "Yes." Tears start to fall freely down his cheeks and Valka tentatively wraps her arms around him. "Is this all right?"

          He buries his face in her shoulder. " _I don't know._ "

          Valka strokes the small hairs at the nape of his neck. "Who would have thought? You turned out like me."

          "That part is okay." 

          Valka is reassured by Hiccup's strong arms clutching to her back like a lifeline. She ponders over what to talk about to calm him down. "Who puts the braids in your hair?"

          The question surprises him, but he shrugs, not letting go. "Astrid does. I don't see her often, but when she's here, we spend hours just flying."

          "She?" Valka muses. 

          He pulls away, giving her a look before she suddenly remembers why she's there. "Hiccup, can we stay here, if only to rest for a little while?"

          "Y-yeah. Yes. Absolutely. Um, can he fly a bit farther? I have a lake on the far side of the island."

          "That would be perfect. Thank you, Hiccup." she cups his cheek and he leans into her hand. "My little boy."

          Valka turns, watching Hiccup slide easily into his saddle. Hiccup addresses the king with a bow of his head, explaining what they're going to do. With a gusty breath, the Bewilderbeast lifts into the air, exhausted, but willing. Every other dragon on the island follows them, and the king of dragons settles into the lake. 

          "I hope it's okay that it's warm. There's a hot spring at the bottom because of the volcano."

          "It's perfectly all right, Hiccup."

          To show his gratitude, the king looks to Hiccup, projecting a message to him. Valka is sure that it's long-winded.

          Every dragon of Toothless' cave works quickly to make a nest for their alpha and the Bewilderbeast watches carefully as Toothless shakes his head in exasperation. Still, when they present it to him, he makes a show of testing it out before nudging Hiccup into the circle of fluff and lying down. He faces the Bewilderbeast. 

           _They respect you._ The king hums. 

           ** _I took over from the Queen. People on Berk call her the Red Death. I became alpha after she was dead._**

           _And the boy?_

          Toothless lifts his head, licking at Hiccup's hair as he chatters with his mother. He's too distracted to complain.  ** _His name is Hiccup, and he rescued me._**

           _He is clever, to understand us as he does. Not even Valka can truly hear me speak._

           _ **He is special.**_

The Bewilderbeast rumbles, shifting onto his side. Water sloshes around his huge body and he relaxes.  _I believe that. He is respectful._

          Toothless can't help the spark of amusement that runs through him.  _ **He's actually the one who shot me down.**_

The king is silent for a moment.  _And you forgave this?_

           _ **He came to find me. He was a runt by human standards, and he was trying to prove himself. He was going to kill me, but when I looked into his eyes, he was terrified.**_

_He let you go?_

_**I gave him a warning.**   **He came after me anyway. I was trapped in a hollow, couldn't fly. He helped me.**_

          The king looks at Hiccup for a long while, resting his head on the edge of the lake.  _He is something else._

          Toothless hums, realizing that Hiccup has long since fallen asleep on him. The Bewilderbeast glances around for Valka, seeing her wrapped in Cloudjumper's wings nearby. It's very clear that the boy is her son.

          They spend the next two days in the shadow of the king. Toothless spends the next two days showing every dragon his doubled set of spines as he clicks them with every step.

          Valka is very excited, and she's awed by some of the dragons that Hiccup has accumulated. She draws a map of what her island used to look like, and she stares at it with a look of longing. 

          Hiccup wishes so badly that he could have seen it. "What was it like?"

          "Beautiful." she murmurs, her tone wistful. 

          "Can... can you draw it for me?"

          She looks over at him where he's standing at the top of the map. "Of course."

          "Does the king want to check out the volcano? Our entrance is definitely big enough. I've been meaning to fix it ever since the Red Death broke the wall down five years ago, but I've never gotten around to it."

          "Red Death?"

          "She was the queen here before Toothless became the alpha. Stoick lead a raid on the island, since they finally had a way to find the nest, and I tried to stop him. A lot of Berk could have died that day."

          "How did you stop her?"

          Hiccup frowns. "Dragon's aren't so fireproof on the inside. That's the only dragon I've ever killed."

          "I see." Toothless croons to him and he rubs the black dragon's head. "And what of your Night Fury?"

          "Oh, Toothless? I... I shot Toothless down, and when I came back to find him, let him go." 

          Valka tilts her head. "I don't see how he could ever trust you again after that."

          "He didn't trust me in the first place, so there was no trust to break. I went looking for him again, and his left tail fin was missing."

          "You cost him his flight?"

          Toothless turns his head then to look at her and Hiccup doesn't think he likes the veiled threat there. He curls his tail around Hiccup to prove his point. To Hiccup, the message is clear.  _You will not make my human feel guilty. Not when he gave me a new tail fin for the one I lost._

          Valka considers him before smiling wide. "I see. It truly is a beautiful piece."

          "Thank you." Hiccup says, a grin forming slowly in return. "So, you don't blame me?"

          "You were trying to make Stoick proud, I'd wager. And Toothless doesn't seem to mind at all."

          "It's not that I didn't try to make it so he could fly on his own. He just threw the working piece into the ocean."

          Toothless' ear twitches in smug amusement and he scoops Hiccup up onto his back. Valka climbs up onto Cloudjumper's muscled neck. 

          "Now, I believe I have something to draw for you."

          Toothless lifts into the air and Hiccup laughs. "Yeah, you do. Give me a minute though." He flies towards the king and the massive crest of his head lifts to be at eye level with Hicucp. "We're gonna go see the volcano if you want to come. If you're healthy enough, that is."

          There's a chilling gust of wind as the Bewilderbeast lifts from the lake. The water sheds off of him and he gives himself a shake, spraying everything with water. Hiccup is amazed by the sheer size of him no matter how many times he sees it. 

          He walks around the island, stretching out like he does at least once a day. They fly to the entrance of the cave and the king looks at the large hole in the side of the volcano. Dipping his large head, he slips inside. Toothless flies in under his legs and swoops up into the nursery. With a small chuff, he attracts the king's attention and the king lifts up onto his hind legs, leaning against the ledge with the utmost gentleness. Den mothers look up and greet both alphas with chitters and squawks, bowing their heads with respect. 

          The newest baby, a Hobblegrunt bounces up and down in front of him, turning bright yellow with excitement. Cloudjumper hangs on the edge of the tier, letting Valka jump off of his back before climbing up into the nursery. The king watches the babies with his intelligent eyes as they hop all around him. A few get obnoxious.

          Hiccup tilts his head. "Can't he just tell them to go away?"

          Valka laughs. "They're babies, dear. You know they don't listen to anyone."

          Toothless makes a chittering noise in the back of his throat and the babies skitter back to their mothers. The alpha looks rather impressed with him. Hiccup notes that Toothless is preening under the alpha's appreciative stare.

          Toothless makes sure that he's down on the ground when the king lowers himself back to all fours. He helps the king watch his step in the unfamiliar space and he sniffs at Hiccup's forge with curiosity. The king glances around, kneading his enormous paws on the warm floors. Valka laughs from where she's still perched on the nursery ledge. 

          "He likes it."

          Hiccup reaches a hand out to touch the king and he stares for a few moments before bringing his head within reach. Toothless grins as he glances up and sees that Hiccup's eyes are filled with wonder. It's the same wonder that fills him every time he looks at Toothless. 

           _Do you see now why he's special?_ Toothless rumbles. 

          The Bewilderbeast stares at Hiccup, taken by surprise by the young man in front of him as he leans just a little forward into the boy's hands. The rumble that comes from his huge body fills the cave.  _ **He understands.**_

* * *

         

          Cressida is shocked when Tsaka rushes into her hut and shuts the door behind her, not even bothering to knock. "Tsaka-"

          "He killed my father." she says softly. "He's dead. I know it."

          "I heard the scream. I had wondered if it had something to do with that strange man."

          "We have to go." Tsaka whispers, sobs catching in her throat. 

          Cressida frowns. "You know they will never find him."

          Tsaka sinks against the door. "My father told him, to save me. He killed my mother first. All we wanted to do was protect him, and we failed."

          "Tsaka, get up. Where are you going to go? It's days sailing from here to anywhere."

          "Berk. We have to warn them. When he finds out that Wraith isn't there, he'll come back and kill me."

          Cressida shakes her head. "I'm not-"

          "Don't make me go on my own, _please_."

          Cressida is quiet, looking the young girl over. "You're bleeding."

          "I'm fine."

          Cressida doesn't have time to tell her she's not when a sword breaks through Tsaka's chest from outside the door. She doesn't even get the chance to scream before she's dead. The cloaked man from earlier pushes the door open, sliding the girl's body out of the way carelessly. Regret wells in Cressida's chest and she stares at Tsaka's body. 

          "What do you want?"

          He grins, his scar making his face twist menacingly. "To win the war."

* * *

          

          It's been nearly a week since Valka and the king had come to stay with Hiccup. Hiccup isn't expecting Astrid, so when Stormfly's shadow comes out of the fog, Hiccup is pleased. 

          "Astrid!"

          "Hiccup, we need somewhere else to set down."

          "We?"

          Astrid turns Stormfly so that Hiccup can see Stoick sitting on Stormfly's back as well, a blindfold over his eyes. Hiccup looks towards the cave and Toothless rushes over, offering his side for Hiccup to jump on. 

          He flies inside to tell his mother to come quickly and rides back out to meet Astrid. "Come on." Astrid stares at Valka, though she's wearing her mask, so that would explain at least some of her wariness. 

          "I'll explain later, just follow."

          Stoick doesn't say anything, and if Hiccup looks just right, he can see the wax in his ears keeping him from hearing anything. Hiccup wonders how Astrid convinced him do it.

          As they fly over to the lake, the Bewilderbeast lifts his great head and watches Stormfly set down eagerly. Hiccup and Valka jump off of their dragons, and Toothless immediately goes for some fish. He brings it to Stormfly who lays down to sleep after Stoick is safely off her back. She's tired, but Hiccup can tell she's being dramatic for Toothless' sake. 

          Astrid taps Stoick's ears and he quickly pulls the wax out, tugging his blindfold off. Thankfully, Astrid has him facing away from the king, otherwise he would freak out on sight. 

          Hiccup waits for Stoick to say something when he sees who Astrid has brought him to. He's not expecting to be swept up into a hug the moment he starts to wonder if Stoick will say anything. Stoick squeezes him. 

          "Thank Odin, you're all right."

          "Of course-" Hiccup cuts off, struggling to breathe. He pats Stoick's arm, reminding him that he requires air to breathe. Stoick lets him go. "Dad, of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"

          "Berk is under siege by a man named Drago Bludvist. After he found out that you had been outcast years ago, he blocked off the entire island with his army of dragons. No one can escape. And do you remember Cressida?"

          "From Kurius, yeah, of course. I buy gems from her sometimes."

          "She won't be doing business any longer. Drago executed her in the square with the whole village watching. He says he'll keep killing innocents unless he gets you. I have most of the people hidden out in the woods, so they'll be safe until I return."

          Hiccup takes a few steps back. "You're handing me over to them?"

          Stoick sighs. "Of course not. You have an army at your back, and the people need you."

          Hiccup's laughter is sharp and cold. "Hold on, just give me a second." he can feel Valka staring at him as he wipes under his eyes. 

          "Son, this isn't a joke!"

          Hiccup sobers, all humor that might have been there gone. "You think I don't know that?! Do you even realize how hard this is to hear? The moment the people who outcasted me have a problem, suddenly you  _need_ me? After five years? Three years ago, you told me that you didn't expect 'Sorry' to fix everything. And you're beyond right. I-"

          Stoick grips his shoulders. "Hiccup."

          Hiccup pauses, hanging his head and avoiding his father's gaze. 

          "I know how this must sound to you, but this is important. Hundreds of lives are riding on this. I don't want to hand you over to anyone, and I certainly don't want to lose you, but I can't lead a people that doesn't exist." Stoick lets him go when he notices that Hiccup's eyes are squeezed shut. "I know that you said I haven't known you for a long time, but I know one thing, Hiccup."

          Hiccup lifts his head, watching him. "And what's that?"

          "You have a good heart. You always have."

          Hiccup shifts, suddenly awkward now that he's not obscenely angry. 

          "I'd, uh, I'd hug you now, but I'm not quite sure how you'd take it."

          "I don't know. Probably pretty well, but you never know until you try." Hiccup mumbles, shrugging.

          Stoick holds on for a little too long, and when it starts to get more awkward than it already is, two throats clear off to the right. Stoick lets him go abruptly. Astrid hides a smile and Hiccup glares at her half-heartedly. 

          "Now, who is your new friend, Hiccup?" Stoick asks. 

          Hiccup laughs nervously. "Um, you can handle that. Astrid and I will be just over.... here, yeah." he grabs her hand and makes a run for it towards the Bewilderbeast. Stoick watches them go, and his jaw drops when he sees the massive dragon in the lake. 

          "What is that?" Stoick whispers. 

          "He's the king of dragons." Hiccup's friend says, speaking for the first time.

          Something about her voice sounds familiar, and Stoick puts his hand out for her to shake. "Stoick, chief of Berk."

          She chuckles, but it's a sad sound. "I know." She pulls her armor off piece by piece, and when it's finally down to just her mask, she pulls it off slowly. "And I know what you're going to say, as well."

          Stoick stares as she drops the mask, reaching out a hand in stunned disbelief. 

          Tears build in her eyes. "Stoick?"

          A pained smile look crosses his features. " _You're as beautiful as the day I lost you._ "

          Valka's breath catches and she loses her grip on her staff. Stoick swoops her up and laughs merrily while Valka laughs with tears in her eyes. Before he gets too far, he hears Astrid say that they don't have time to mess around. Though she's speaking to Hiccup, he knows that she's right. 

          "I've missed you for far too long, my dear." Stoick whispers.

          "And I you."

          He puts her down and Hiccup is being dragged back over to them by the collar of his armor. He doesn't struggle, already resigned.

          Just as she drops him, Hiccup puts his elbows down to catch himself and scrambles to his feet, brushing off all of the grass and dirt. "So, what's the plan?"

          Astrid borrows Hiccup's sword from where it's attached to his right leg and Stoick notes that it has no middle. She draws a crude map of Berk. 

          Stoick crouches down over the map and Valka leans over his shoulder. He can smell her scent just above him, and he likes that it's the same as it has always been. Sage and rain.

          "There are tunnels beneath Berk. They're how We escaped. Astrid insisted on maintaining your privacy wherever we are, and she called her dragon to come pick us up." Stoick points to an entrance to the forest just off the low point of the island. "That's where we got out, and that's where we'll be going back in. Think your dragons can follow directions, son?"

          "Of course they can."

          "What about  _that_ monster of a dragon? Can he fight?"

          "He was injured a week ago when Drago destroyed our fortress with another alpha. We barely escaped. He's doing a lot better, but nowhere close to recovered."

          There a low bellow from behind them and Stoick turns. The alpha is lifting himself from the lake and Stoick's eyebrows lift as he sees the sheer size of the beast. 

          Hiccup gets to his feet walking to meet the king as he takes careful steps closer, threading through the dragons gathered around the lake. "You don't have to fight."

           _ **I know. You rescued my nest. I will return the favor.**_

          "You'd be safe here."

           _ **And if you are killed? How long will this nest be safe? How long will your family be safe if I stay and do nothing? No. I will fight with you.**_

          Hiccup dips his head respectfully. "Thank you."

          Stoick and Valka are both staring at him. Valka is the first to speak. "You really talk to him?"

          Hiccup blinks before shrugging. "He says he'll fight with us, and he doesn't want to stay behind. So, what's the plan?"

          "We'll need to come out behind Meade Hall. There's a split between the building and the mountain where groups of about twenty or so could come through at once. There's another similar one that opens up behind the arena."

          "Are there still dragons in there?" Hiccup asks, drawing a circle where it should be and letting Stoick trace in the holes. 

          "No. Since the raids stopped, there hasn't been a reason to keep any. There are one or two who still occasionally steal food, but I'd doubt they're from your bunch."

          "Good. Did you see how many dragons Drago has?"

          "Not near as many as there are here."

          Hiccup chuckles. "I've been stealing them from him."

          Stoick opens his mouth to call him out on being stupid. 

          "Not him specifically. I had no idea who was running the show until today. There were matching boats, and I put the pieces together. That's all." Stoick points a finger at him and Hiccup rolls his eyes. "The plan?"

          "Right." Stoick says, continuing to pick out points of entry.

* * *

          

          Eret shifts, rolling his thick shoulders. He watches Drago as he orders more dragons to close off the left flank. It's been a long, long few years since his dragon trapping days were over. He could almost swear that the brand on his chest still burns every time Drago looks at him. 

          He stares out at Berk for a moment, seeing the town empty. He briefly wonders where so many people could have gone. Eret shakes his head, but says nothing. He hasn't said anything since the day Drago branded him and took away his life as a trapper for one of a sailor and slave driver instead. The ink on his skin sometimes itches, but there's nothing he can do. The heavy coloring of the chain wrapping from his brand up around his neck took hours. He'll never be rid of it.

          Cold wind bites against his skin, but he ignores it. He used to wear a fur jacket, but Drago had taken it so that he couldn't hide his failures.

          The fingers of his right hand tap impatiently against his thigh, and his left curls around the pommel of his short sword. He glances back at his charges where they walk in circles to weigh anchor for the ship to move, deliberating over whether or not to crack the whip over their heads. There's one lagging a little, but he's keeping up well enough to do his job. 

          Drago does it for him, except the whip lands on the dragon's skin. "Keep them moving, son of Eret."

          Eret says nothing, only staring at the brown harnesses, caked with blood after long hours of work and a whip thrashing across their skin. 

          Drago turns away with a scoff. "Even now, you're soft."

          He leaves Eret standing on his own as he watches the dragons flying out over the edge of the island. Even out there, they aren't free. The beast underneath the rocking, creaking boats makes sure of that. He caught a glimpse of its tail once, and for him, that was enough. He's never felt the desire to know what kind of monster bears a tail like that.

          A sense of foreboding crawls up his spine and Eret glances around. The boat rocks to the side and a single black crow flies from the mast, cawing. Eret narrows his eyes. Water laps a little louder against the side of the boat and deck hands stumble with the sudden movement. 

         He hears the roaring before he sees the dragons. On the island, new dragons are appearing out of nowhwere. Eret leans over the side of the boat to get a good look. They pour out of the earth by the hundreds, led by a lithe black shape. Eret's eyes widen as he realizes that the shape is a Night Fury. He picks out a tiny form on its back and his breath leaves him as he realizes that it must be Wraith. They swoop low over the ships, the air seeming to tear as the wind streams around them. Eret can almost see it before an explosion in the boat next to his sends wood flying. 

          "Cut them down!" Drago roars. 

          Nets fly, and Eret can only watch as they twist gracefully out of each one's way. They move together so perfectly, and Wraith watches around where the Night Fury can't see. Eret sees traps open up and Wraith yells for the dragons moving to rescue others to stop. They don't hear him and the pair loop in the air, changing directions. Eret's jaw drops as Wraith jumps from the dragons back, something in his hand glinting as he releases Zippleback gas over the top of the traps. The rescue dragons shy away from the gas and Wraith lights it up. Wraith is flying somehow, though Eret can barely see.

          The Night Fury flies to catch Wraith and they continue on their way, the freed dragons joining his ranks along with the rescuers. The maneuver was perfect.

          Eret is thrown across the deck as a blast destroys the railing of the ship and the mast splinters and cracks. Long tears appear in the other boats' sails as Timberjacks fly through, chopping off the masts and leaving them in the water. The bolas will do nothing for those huge wings. 

          There's a jerk from the chains underwater and water washes up onto the deck. Eret climbs to his feet just as another jerk knocks him back to his knees. A wave crashes over the deck and Eret struggles with what's left on the rigging to keep them upright. Eret is frozen in place when an enormous white beast rises from the water, equally large wings unfurling from the mass of spines on its back. The grey one that Eret had seem a glimpse of arches out of the water, unable to follow. It's bleeding, Eret realizes.  _It's losing._

          The white one picks the grey beast out of the water, flapping its wings so hard to lift them both that some of the boats drift a little ways out to sea. It drops Drago's dragon on a set of sharp sea stacks and it howls in pain, struggling to turn over. The great white body of Wraith's dragon disappears under the water and Eret rushes to the edge of his boat to see what happens. Drago is yelling at his beast from the mast to turn over and it slowly does so, blood trailing down its back. It crawls up onto the land just as Wraith's beast emerges again, snapping onto its tail and dragging it under the cresting waves. 

          Eret is so transfixed on the fight that he's picked up by an enemy dragon. He doesn't scream, but he'd like to. Four wings flap at the same time and a wide face looks at him from above. It has a rider. 

          He looks into the slotted eyes of the mask, trying to decipher whether or not she'll drown him. It's obviously a she anyway. 

          "Leave him be, Cloudjumper."

          The dragon drops him into the water and he swims up, struggling back over to the ship. Eret makes it to the mast just in time to see Drago aim a bola at the Night Fury. Both of their backs are turned and Eret wants to scream for them to move. His voice won't work. The bola hits the pair and they crash. Eret can see the hungry glint in Drago's eyes. 

          Drago leaps onto a Nadder as it swings around and he rides it to land, dropping off of it when he's near to Wraith. Wraith is just about to mount his dragon when Drago gets his attention.

          "The infamous Wraith." Drago muses. "Or should I say Hiccup?"

          The Night Fury at his side growls and Wraith's gaze is drawn toward the beach. Drago turns, seeing his Bewilderbeast drag itself onto the shore. The white one towers over him and Drago sees him pause. They seem to be conversing. He turns to Hiccup.

          "Your beast is merciful. I am not."

          "Why are you doing this? Just stop. I'm standing right here." he looks around at all the carnage, the villagers having come back from the woods when Stoick made it back to make them move out. Drago's dragons pick them off if they can before bolas knock them from the sky. "It's what you wanted, right?"

          "I suppose."

          "If not this, then what? Why would you even care if all you want is to have all the dragons?"

          "Because, I can't have all of the dragons if you're still alive."

          The answer catches him off-guard and Drago swings his spear just as an armored dragon crashes into the Night Fury. It clips Wraith on the head and he stumbles, pulling his sword. Drago notes that it's hollow, just like his brand on the sheep.

          He fights with a skill that Drago hadn't anticipated, and it takes too much to take him on with force. He uses the spear to sweep his good leg out from under him. Surprise crosses his face as he maintains balance, knocking him back with an elbow as he steps in close. Drago recovers quickly, cracking his thick skull against Wraith's and sending him backwards. 

          Hiccup hits the ground, his hood and mask coming off as Drago pulls his cloak from his shoulders. Blood drips from his nose and he swipes at it glaring up at Drago.

          "Well?" he hisses. "What are you waiting for?"

          Drago stares down at him, the scars on his face surprising him before he regains composure. He raises his spear, but he doesn't get a chance to strike when a huge mass rushes him from the side. 

          Wraith shouts. "Dad!"

          "You'll not hurt my boy." a voice growls, and Drago looks up.

          "You're supposed to be dead." Drago snarls, climbing to his feet. 

          "It will take more than a little fire to kill me." Stoick says lowly, stalking around and twisting an ax in his hands. 

          "Dad-"

          "Go help your dragons, son."

          Hiccup glances down at the two Bewilderbeasts. The white one is still standing over the grey, his massive tail swishing back and forth in agitation. Wiping his nose again, Hiccup makes a run for a set of traps.

          Toothless and an armored Snafflefang roll past, Hiccup ducking out of the way. Stoick watches him make it safely to the first trap before turning his attention back to Drago. 

          "You never should have come after my son."

          Drago laughs. "That scrap of a boy is your son? How... shameful." 

          "The only shame I feel is that I didn't realize the truth about him sooner."

          "You could be rid of them, Stoick. All of the dragons."

          "And how many would die to achieve that?"

          Drago snarls, hurling himself at Stoick. As the fight progresses, Drago is outmatched. He knows it. It's a lucky shot when he knocks Stoick onto his back. His spear is almost in Stoick's chest when something flashes underneath the tip, dragging it off-course. 

          "Valka!" Stoick yells, kicking Drago back and cradling her in his arms. "Are you all right?"

          She lifts her hand from her side. "I'm fine." 

          Her fingers are coated with blood. "No, no, Val. I just got you back."

          She laughs. "Stoick, stop. Just look, it's a skim. I'm fine. You don't have to worry over me."

          Feeling her side, Stoick sighs in relief. "For you, my dear? Anything."

          There's a sudden howl of rage, mad screaming following. There's a bellow of pain in response and Stoick looks over at the Bewilderbeasts. The grey is trying to rise, but the white king is holding him down with one massive paw. Stoick sees Drago on the hill, waving his spear in circles. The grey is filled with new determination, swinging his shredded tail and knocking the white aside. He raises his tusks to fight and the king has no choice. Regaining his balance, he pushes his own deadly tusks into the grey's chest. 

          Drago and his men retreat, the dragons in his army settling down on Berk's torn land and watching the ships go. Stoick picks Valka up, watching as the villagers pick themselves up. 

          Toothless rushes over and Stoick doesn't see Hiccup on his back. He looks around, not seeing him anywhere. "Hiccup!" 

          Toothless, upon realizing that they don't know where he is either, quickly runs through the village, sniffing out the small traces of him scattered around. They're all too fresh. Never before has he ever been hindered by having too much of one scent.

          Valka looks up at Stoick when Toothless returns without him and he pulls her close to his side. "Don't worry, Val. We'll find him."

          The white Bewilderbeast approaches, his steps heavy and tired. Valka stares up at him. "Hiccup is missing."

          The king blinks in acknowledgement and roars up into the sky. Dragons all over the island either start to run around or take flight, smelling at every inch of the island. Toothless has the sinking feeling that he knows what happened.

          On the flagship, already a few miles away, Hiccup is dropped before Drago on the deck. He quickly finds his feet, growling at the men getting close to keep them off his back.

          "Behold, the great dragon master, Wraith, and son of Stoick the Vast."

          He's stripped of his armor and his sword is already missing. Hiccup stares straight at Drago, letting him drink in the sight of his scars. 

          "Dragons tear people apart, boy."

          Hiccup's lips turn down into a heavy frown. "No." he shakes his head.

          Drago steps towards him, shifting his cloak and inclipping his arm from his shoulder. "We are the same, you and I. We both possess the knowledge to control dragons."

          Hiccup hisses. "It was  _people_ who did this to me, not dragons. I don't want to control them! They don't need to be-"

          "You are naive! Naive if you think that we can share this world with dragons!"

          "Why?! I do! I have for years!"

          "Do you think that they'll come looking for you, boy? That they'll stay loyal after you've gone?"

          Hiccup smiles then. "They have before. And when they do, you'll be sorry you ever decided to take me."

          Behind him, standing in the shadow of the doorway to the captain's chambers, is Eret. He cringes when he sees Drago grin. This won't be good.

          "I'll be sorry?" he says lowly, shaking his head. "No.  _You_ will be the one who's sorry."

          He gestures with his bloody spear three men move forward to grab onto Wraith. Eret takes another step back. Drago turns to one of the harnessed dragons, a Nadder, and picks up a branding iron. Its eyes widen and Drago's face twists into an amused grin. He slides the thick leather band from its nose.

          "Make it hot, beast."

          Eret can tell the moment Wraith realizes what Drago is up to and he starts to struggle. He's not near big enough to wrestle away. The Nadder breathes fire on the brand until it's white-hot. Eret clenches his jaw as he realizes that even his brand hadn't been that hot, and Drago had been pretty upset.

          "Get him down." 

          It only takes a few seconds to put him on his back and the third man holds his legs. Eret wonders if he's ever felt anything similar before, since there are plenty of marks on him that would qualify. The whip scars are a testament to how lucky Eret has been not to have any. 

          Drago decides on a place to put the brand, settling on a spot just over his left hip. It's one of the few places not already scarred. An unexpected swell of sympathy rises in Eret's chest and he grits his teeth to keep from speaking out. 

          "Do you want to know why your dragons won't come for you?"

          Wraith doesn't respond, staring at the iron hovering a foot above his skin. 

          "Because Snaptrapper gas covers up other scents and throws off a dragon's sense of smell."

          Eret can't see the look in Wraith's eyes, but he'd guess it's something like panic. Drago lets the brand down until it's hovering so close to the skin that it flushes pink. He presses down. Wraith screams. Eret closes his eyes against the sound, his screams speaking of not just pain, but anguish, and desolation. Eret can't help but open his eyes and watch.

          His back arches and his head thunks against the deck as he clamps his jaw shut and breathes through the pain. Drago crouches down, pulling the iron back and handing it off to someone else. He pokes at the raw skin and Wraith thrashes. 

          "It'll do. Get Halgrum over here."

          Eret leans against the wood paneling. Halgrum is Drago's attendent. He's also the one who tattooed the chains around Eret's own neck. 

          Drago traces out a line, his large fingertips jabbing purposefully at the edge of the brand. Halgrum nods, pulling out his tools. The crew settles in, watching Halgrum work. The black ink is worked into his skin, chains crawling up his back and around his left shoulder, the loose end hanging in the crook of his arm. Eret feels a prick of shame. He could have stopped them. 

          The men holding him down keep him twisted sideways as Halgrum goes back over his work. To his credit, he was silent throughout the whole thing. When he finishes, he backs up a few steps and lets Drago look at his work. Eret takes a step out into the light when he smiles appreciatively. 

          "Good."

          Then men let him go, making sure that his shoulders and back land on the deck hard enough to stun him. His response is slow as he rolls to the left, curling on himself. 

          "Get him up." Drago orders.

          Two men grab his arms and pull him roughly to his feet. Drago looks around, deciding on a guard for him. Eret rubs at the inside of his wrist. 

          "Son of Eret."

          Eret cringes inside.

          "Since you can't keep three beasts moving, perhaps you can handle a single boy instead."

          Eret remains impassive, stepping forward to grab onto Wraith on his left side. He looks up at Eret, and he notes the glazed look in his eyes. 

          "Our new slave needs a place to stay." Drago muses. "Guest quarters it is."

          Eret nearly bristles with fury. He's making the others resent him, despite how public his ordeal has been. Drago gestures for them to follow him and Eret glances down at his charge. Wraith barely looks up at him before his eyes roll up into his head and he crumples to the deck. Eret almost immediately leans down and picks him up. Even Drago can't expect the injured boy to walk while unconscious. 

          Even if he could walk, his whole left side would be nearly too swollen to use. The skin feels too hot against Eret's chest, but he follows Drago obediently. The rest of Wraith's skin is clammy with cold sweat. Eret doesn't care. Even if he's hurt now, this boy could be his salvation. 

          Drago opens the door to the guest quarters and Eret ducks inside, the door shutting and locking behind him. He puts Wraith down on the bed, the covers nearly swallowing him. The bed makes him look tiny, frail.

          "Hey, thanks for the lift."

          Eret steps away from the bed, moving to stand near the door with his arms crossed over his chest.  _Good actor, aren't you, Wraith?_

          He watches Wraith sit up carefully, cradling his side without ever touching the skin. He swings his legs over the edge of the bed and stands with his good leg before taking tentative steps with his left. The left side of his back is red. Eret sighs heavily, attracting Wraith's attention.

          "What are you lookin at?" Wraith huffs, grabbing the bowl of water on the table and making his way back to the bed. 

          Eret takes the short couple of steps to the bedside and takes the bowl from his hands as they start to shake. He gets the young man to lie down on his right side and he carefully eases the swelling with the cold salt water. His body shakes with shock, though he doubts Wraith notices. 

          " _I just got branded like a piece of livestock."_

          So maybe he did notice.

          Eret chews his lip when he sees a small splitting of skin on the side of the brand. It's still bleeding. He dips his cloth in the water a second time, carefully placing it over the burn and holding it there. The sooner the skin soothes, the safer he'll be. His eyes sweep over the scarring on his back, picking out the different methods across his skin. 

          "I can feel you staring. It's not a big deal."

          The chain tattooed on his back says differently. It crosses his scars, completely indifferent to the healed tissue underneath. 

          Eret picks up his cloth, about to move on when Wraith grabs his hand. "No, wait."

          He slides Wraith's small hand from his wrist, wetting his cloth and putting it back on the brand. A long breath leaves him before he picks his head up to look at Eret. 

          "Thank you."

           _I don't know why you're thanking me. I'm meant to be your jailer._  

          "I'm Hiccup."

          It slips out of his mouth before he can stop it. " _Eret._ " he murmurs. 

          "Nice to meet you." Wraith says tiredly, closing his eyes and drawing a breath.

          Eret has a hard time believing that Wraith's trust comes so easily. He looks at himself and then sighs, seeing the loose end of his tattoo dangling across his chest. 

           _We are the same, you and I._ Drago had said, but Eret has a feeling that Hiccup sees that kinship in him, not in Drago. At first, he thinks it might be sympathy. 

          "I can hear you thinking."

          Eret huffs. 

          "I like you because you're nice to me when anyone else would have just tossed me on the bed and hoped I didn't get an infection. That, and they would have slung me over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes instead of carrying me."

          A laugh rises in Eret's throat, but he chokes it down. He doesn't need Drago to hear. Instead, he smiles, though it's tense with the unfamiliar action.

          Hiccup goes quiet for a minute, turning a little with a sharp wince. "We're moving fast. Not as fast as on dragon-back, but fast for a ship."

          Eret wonders briefly what it's like to be up there, and to be so in tune with a dragon that every movement is graceful no matter how fast. 

          "It's freedom." Hiccup says softly, his eyes closed and his face pressed into the pillow. 

          Eret nods slowly, certain that Hiccup knows what he's talking about. His hands carefully clean his left side again before he stands up and places the bowl back on the table. 

          It's quiet beside the door, but after a weighted silence, there's a small 'thank you' from the bed. Eret doesn't move, listening to chatter outside. It's a long, long few hours before they decide that it's time to put him to work. Eret doesn't like it, but he has to comply when they come in. For now. He heads over to the bed and quickly rouses Hiccup before they have the chance to barge in.

          "What? What is it?" he says, a quick inhale following as he jerks his head up. 

          Eret puts a finger to his lips and points to the door. Hiccup nods and Eret backs into the far corner of the room.

          "What's going to happen?"

          Eret doesn't have a chance to answer before the door opens and Drago ducks inside. "Good morning, dragon master." he turns to Eret. "Bring him outside. No need to be gentle about it."

          Eret nods, Drago leaving as soon as his demand is made. He looks at Hiccup. 

          "Ready to put on a show?" Hiccup says, a tight smile on his face. 

           _No._  

          He offers Hiccup a hand to help him up and he takes it graciously. Already slipping into his role, he tightly grabs onto Hiccup's left arm. He's not shocked that it's hot with inflammation. Hiccup grimaces, nodding jerkily. 

          "I'm ready."

          Eret pushes him forward and he limps heavily. He swings the door open and shoves Hiccup through it, his footsteps faltering on the small stairs. Hiccup fights him a little and Eret grips his arm roughly. The crew are watching and Eret slings him forwards onto the deck. Hiccup staggers, falling onto his side. 

          "Well now, it looks like he's ready for work." Drago says, tossing a bundle of leather at him.

          Hiccup struggles to his feet and Eret sees a glint in his eye that says he's about to do something rebellious. Eret shakes his head in the slightest of motions, but Hiccup ignores it. Eret  _knows_ that he saw. Hiccup kicks the bundle back at Drago. 

          "If you're so tough, you do it."

          Eret wants to roll his eyes or take Hiccup far from Drago. Drago's eye twitches with suppressed rage. He gestures with a finger and a crew member rushes Hiccup. He ducks, snagging the man's sword from its sheath and twisting around to cut him down. Hiccup growls at the men, the dangerous stance of his body deterring the others. 

          "You can't stand your ground forever, dragon master. You will tire eventually."

          "Maybe." Hiccup spits. "Maybe not. Why not try me?"

          "Fine. Have it your way."

          The sword is heavy and unbalanced in his hand, and Eret can see his strength fading. He never should have done this. Still, he cuts his way through six soldiers before Drago decides to put an end to it. 

          "Son of Eret, do you care to try your hand?"

          Eret steps forward, pulling his short swords and looking Hiccup directly in the eyes.  _I won't go easy on you._

          He carefully sidesteps a body and he can see the answer in Hiccup's gaze.  ** _I know._**

          There are tremors running through him as his muscles protest his movement and Eret strikes. He's more prepared than Eret would have guessed. 

          "Don't injure him, son of Eret."

          Eret's short swords clang against Hiccup's long one. His breaths are labored, and heat rolls off of him in waves. Eret locks the longsword between his two and easily slips it from his hand, knocking it aside. Hiccup doesn't give up, jamming his elbow down on Eret's wrist and grabbing onto the short blade as it falls from his hand, swinging it back up and cutting his arm. Hiccup flips the blade in his hand, holding it sharp side down as he stalks to the side.

          Eret takes a step back, wiping at his arm with a raised brow at Hiccup. Hiccup tosses the blade up, shrugging and catching it as it comes back down. Eret is vaguely amused, but he's surprised when Hiccup comes at him. He bats Hiccup's hand away and slams a fist into his brand.  _I'm sorry, Hiccup._

          A yelp leaves him and he crashes to the deck, landing on his back. In a last ditch effort, he throws the short sword. Eret ducks, nearly ready to bust out laughing.  _If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was actually trying to kill me._ The sword stabs into another man's chest and he falls to the ground. 

          Hiccup proves to be more stubborn than even that, turning over and crawling to his feet. He's favoring his left side and sweat drips down his nose. Eret thinks Hiccup knows there's no way he can win. He shifts his remaining sword in his hand, dropping it back into its sheath. The fist fight that follows is short, ending with Hiccup face-down on the deck, Eret on his back. He gets an arm around Hiccup's shoulders, carefully turning him over so that he can keep his arms trapped. He crosses them over his chest and holds onto them with one hand, keeping him down on the wood where he can't run. 

          After a short pause, he starts to struggle again, but Eret shakes his head.  _Easy, easy._ Hiccup doesn't stop, thrashing so hard that Eret almost loses his grip on his hands. There's one of two ways to get him to stop: knock him out, or hurt him enough that he won't move. He doesn't want to knock him out.

          As much as he hated using his burn against him the first time, he hates it more so now as he digs his fingers into the agitated skin. A strangled noise leaves him and Eret grimaces as Hiccup hangs his head, all the fight draining out of him. Eret glances up at Drago, and he seems vastly entertained by the whole ordeal. 

          "You put up a good fight, dragon master. It's time you learned your place."

          Drago points his spear at the mast. A few more soldiers come, warily taking Hiccup from Eret. He doesn't fight, Eret only following close just in case he needs to intervene. When Hiccup finally lifts his head, he knows what's coming and he looks around for a way out. He drags his feet, but he's not strong enough. Eret reluctantly pushes him onward until he's up against the thick wood of the mast. 

          "Eret, aren't you forgetting something?"

          He glances back and Drago holds the whip in his hands, offering it to him. He makes sure that Hiccup is secure out of necessity. Hiccup turns his head to look at him and Eret pulls back slowly. 

          _I'm sorry_ _. Don't look._

          "Twelve lashes, son of Eret. Make them count."

          The whip burns against his hands as he takes it. He turns back to Hiccup, seeing him breathing hard, head leaned against the mast and his green eyes staring back at him as much as possible. Eret shakes his head.  _Don't look._

          "Well...?" Drago growls. "What are you waiting for?"

          Hiccup turns his face away and Eret lets the whip fly. Hiccup jumps, groaning through clenched teeth. He doesn't make a peep at the next strike, though it draws blood. Eret focuses on the task at hand, dealing out the next four without thinking about it. As his next strike crosses the last set, a hoarse sound comes from his mouth and he drags in an agonized breath. Five left. Eret hesitates.  _He's only a boy._

          "Do it." Hiccup growls. 

          Drago laughs. "You want pain, boy?"

          "I'm here, aren't I?" he snaps. 

          "Make it twenty, Eret. Then we'll be done with it. Avoid the chain if you can."

          Eret slings the whip three times, watching Hiccup grip the ropes binding him to the mast. After fifteen, he falters, leaning back and heaving breaths. He swallows, pressing back against the mast to support himself. Eret lands the last five as softly as possible with Drago watching, but soft with a whip makes no difference. 

          Hiccup's body heaves with breaths that are too hard to take, blood dripping down to the wood beneath his feet as his muscles quiver with exhaustion. They untie him, tossing him onto the deck in front of Drago. Hiccup groans, pulling his knees underneath him and glaring up at Drago, panting. 

          "I suppose we won't have the chance to harness you just yet. We will break you, in time."

          "That's what-" he cuts off, his eyes closing as he swallows. "That's what the trappers said. I'll give you three guesses as to what I said to them."

          Drago approaches, putting the tip of his spear under Hiccup's scarred jaw and tilting his head back. "I suppose I don't need to guess by the looks of you."

          Hiccup laughs, but it rattles. "And you don't have two months. It doesn't matter whether there's Snaptrapper gas around or not. They'll find you, and then Toothless will kill you."

          Eret stares at the boy. Two months. He's not sure what to do with that information, but he doesn't have time to think about it when the thick part of Drago's spear knocks into Hiccup's temple. He catches himself, though he's dazed. Drago looks to Eret. 

         "Take him away."

          Eret pulls him to his feet and Hiccup grits his teeth. He doesn't make it far, stumbling back to his knees. Eret is having none of it, picking him up despite his back. There will be time for being gentle later, after Eret lectures him. Hiccup sucks in a breath, holding back a groan until they get inside the guest quarters. 

          "Ow."

          Eret is fuming. He puts him down on the bed stomach-down. " _Do you have any idea how stupid that was?_ "

          "So you do talk. Great. Mind not yelling at me until after I die?"

          Eret rolls his eyes, his voice coming in a low murmur, since his throat won't allow anything else. _"You aren't going to die_." Hiccup coughs, swiping his fingers across his lips. Eret snags his hand, seeing the blood that Hiccup had tried to hide. Hiccup jerks in surprise, a distressed noise rising in his throat before Eret shushes him, eyes darting to the door. " _Easy, lad, easy, easy_."

          He splays his fingers, nodding slowly. "Sorry. I'm a bit jumpy."

          Eret lets him go. " _You don't have to explain._ "

          "I know."

          He makes sure Hiccup is lying flat before grabbing the bowl of water. Eret pretends not to see the tears on Hiccup's face as he cleans his back, soaking a bit of mead into the rag when he's not looking. He doesn't warn him of the sting. He already knows. He falls asleep sometime in the middle, too exhausted to care whether it hurts or not with how numb he is. Eret hopes Hiccup is right about the Night Fury, otherwise it'll be a nightmare for him. For both of them if he keeps up his attitude.

          When he's finished, he returns to his place by the door. The sun rises and sets and Eret is relieved of his guard duty to fix a rigging error made by the idiots set to replace him. He's hesitant to leave them with Hiccup while he's gone, but it should only take a few minutes to fix. A deck hand gives him the sword they pulled from the body before they tossed them overboard. He swings across the expanse of the ship on one rope, rushing to secure the poorly drawn lines. Thunder rumbles over his head and he quickly draws the sails up. The wind buffets at his back almost as soon as he's finished. He peers as the horizon, the sky dark with the sudden storm.

          The beginnings of a yelp are suddenly cut off and Eret drops to the deck. He runs to the door blindly in the early morning darkness, pushing the door open. The two men on replacement guard duty for him are standing on either side of the bed, Hiccup curled up in a ball at the head, directly in the middle. Blood runs across his back in lines from scabs that have been cracked open.

          Eret has never been more angry than he is in that moment. Lightning flashes in the doorway, casting shadows over Eret's face as he growls deep in his throat. The two next to the bed whip their heads towards him and Eret pulls his short swords. They run. Once they're out the door, Eret gives chase, slitting the first's throat and tossing him overboard. Blood coats his hands and the second man is already up by the ship's wheel. He goes no further, the sword in Eret's right hand flying from his fingers and piercing through his back. Eret walks up the wooden stairs, pulling his sword free. Rain patters down on the blade, washing blood from the blade onto the deck. In the pouring, he's quickly drenched.

          He dumps the body before returning to the guest cabin. Hiccup looks up when he enters and thunder cracks outside. He flinches, ducking his head. Eret raises his hands to appease him and his green eyes widen. He steps closer to the bed until he's standing next to it. Hiccup scoots back, staying on his right side as much as he can. Eret tilts his head before remembering that his hands are covered in blood. 

          " _I'm not going to hurt you._ "

          Hiccup watches for a little while him before calming. Eret closes the door, locking it. He wipes the blood off his hands and grabs a cloth to clean up Hiccup's back. Hiccup is cautious, keeping him in eyeshot even now that he knows it's Eret. Eret isn't offended.

          "Your hands are cold." Hiccup murmurs. 

          Eret nods. " _Pulled up the rigging in the rain._ "

          "Huh." he huffs, laughing a bit. "Your hair is dripping on me."

          Eret chuckles. " _Sorry._ "

          Hiccup shifts, groaning. Eret helps him ease onto his stomach again and gives his back a thorough wash. "You don't have to mother me, you know?"

          " _It would help if you stopped getting hurt. That whipping did nothing to help you._ "

          "And who dealt it out?!" Hiccup snaps, a sharp breath leaving him as he sees Eret's pained expression. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

          Eret stops him. " _Save your apologies. I deserve it, Hiccup. If not for your whipping, then for other things I've done._ "

          Hiccup is silent at that and Eret finishes tending to him. He stands by the door, rocking with the ship as the wind tosses waves into the sides. Eret is sure he'll be needed in the morning when everything onboard is trashed. He won't be leaving Hiccup with anyone else again, probably ever. 

          Hiccup slips into an uneasy sleep, waking at small noises and creaks that are louder than normal. The storm outside only makes it worse. Eret is unsure of what to do, if anything, so he lets him be. He doesn't look rested at all by morning, and Eret has a feeling that he won't for a long while. Eret himself is saddled with duties, so he gets Hiccup up and walking, at least so that he can follow. Drago looks vaguely amused when Hiccup finds his way over to the dragons, staring at them intently and they at him as they sit in their cages. Eret glances over to check on him every once and a while and drawing nearer when anyone else comes too close. 

          "You're hovering." Hiccup grumbles when Eret slides down a rope nearby.

          Eret huffs, walking past him. He doesn't intervene when Drago walks over to talk to Hiccup, but he can tell that neither party is liking the other's company. Hiccup spits an answer out to something Drago says and Drago walks away, shaking his head. Drago heads for the stern, shifting the wheel a bit. 

          "Naive." he says, muttering under his breath about how stubborn and pig-headed Hiccup is for a boy his size.

          Eret can only smile. A few of the crew give him funny looks, and he lets them wonder if he's planning a murder or something. There's still blood on his pants, so he just might be if you ask them.  _Another one, anyway._

          Hiccup is tired by the end of the day, letting his guard down as he sits up against the Nadder cage. He closes his eyes and Eret zeroes in on him. He can only imagine how tired and sore Hiccup is after the last two days. At least on this boat, he'll be less likely to be murdered in his sleep. He'll just need to hold out for another couple hours.

          Drago dismisses him rather harshly, having found out about the two sailors that he'd killed during the night. His spear knocks solidly into Eret's cheek, sending him reeling. There's silence around the boat as Eret steadies himself, wiping blood from his face. 

          Drago snarls. "Get out of my sight. Take Wraith with you."

          Eret does so, unfortunately having to roughly wake Hiccup and drag him back to his chamber. Hiccup is startled by his rough handling and tries to get away as soon as he's in the room, trying to pull his wrist from Eret's grasp. 

          " _Stop struggling!_ " Eret hisses. 

          "Let me go!"

          " _Hiccup!"_ Eret snaps. " _I'm barely touching you. I'm on your side!"_

          Hiccup doesn't seem to realize. Eret pulls him around to look at him and Hiccup takes in his familiar face. "I di-I didn't know it was y-you. I thou-thought you might-"

          " _What? Abandon you? Where would I go?_ "

          "Just-just that," he takes a slightly panicked breath. "W-when you weren't looking, that-that they-"

          He's scared. Eret can see that plainly enough. For someone who has been through all that he has, it's not really a surprise. Eret glances towards the door before pulling Hiccup into what he hopes is a comforting embrace. 

          " _Don't worry about anyone else on this boat. I'm watchin' out for you. It's all right to be afraid._ "

          He nods. "Okay, y-yeah."

          Eret gives him a push over to the bed and Hiccup lies down stiffly. He doesn't sleep well. Eret doesn't bat an eye when he's irritated in the morning, only leaving him up on the figurehead in the cool morning breeze. They bring in a new bunch of dragons in the later hours of the morning and Drago makes a show of forcing them to submit to him. Hiccup barely holds himself still, his brow furrowing and his lips curling in disgust. 

          He spends the next few hours staring at them, just like he had the others. Drago comes to stand next to Eret as he unfurls the topsails. "The boy is acting strange."

          Eret's brow raises in amusement.  _Oh, really?_

          "The way they look at him, intent. It's like they're listening, but he never speaks."

          Eret wants to laugh at him. Apparently, he's not subtle enough to hide it.

          "What are you smiling about, son of Eret?" his tone immediately sends the little mocking voice scurrying back into the depths of his mind.

          The smile falls from Eret's face and he busies himself with pulling the rope tight and moving along. Drago, unfortunately, follows, watching him as he works at the perfect angles to keep all the sailors and Hiccup in his range of vision. 

          "At least you're taking your job seriously this time, Eret. I would hate to see you have to bear the same scars as your charge."

          Eret fumbles, dropping used bola that he was about to wrap up. Drago laughs, slapping him on the back. Eret takes a few calming breaths to rid himself of the jittery feeling provided by Drago's veiled threat. When he turn his gaze back to Hiccup, a deck hand is approaching. He waits to see what he might do, Hiccup already tense at his nearness. When the deck hand starts to talk to him, Hiccup relaxes a little and Eret resumes working. He keeps glancing over as he repacks the bola launchers, making sure no one is up to anything. The bowman up in the crow's nest is looking away from them and the one near the stern is watching the other boats for signs of trouble. The ones without sails are further back, but not lagging yet. Eret looks back to Hiccup. 

          Drago sees his gaze shift around, following his eyes as he tracks everyone onboard. "You are taking this  _very_ seriously."

          Eret turns his gaze away, but just as he does, there's a scuffle of motion. In his peripheral vision, Drago waves a hand to someone. There's a muffled squeak of pain and Eret turns, finding Hiccup almost instantly. There's a man behind him with a sword to his throat and a second who looks ready to skewer him. 

          "Let's see what lengths you would go to to do your job, eh?" Drago chuckles. 

          Eret growls, turning from the bola and throwing one of his swords. The second man looks at Eret and pushes his sword up closer to Hiccup's throat. Eret looks to Hiccup. He doesn't look afraid, only angry. He seems to have taken what Eret said to heart, since he doesn't look worried in the least about the man behind him. Eret soon realizes that it's because he plans to take care of the man himself. Before the deck hand knows what's happening, Hiccup is in motion, swiping his sword from him and turning fast, burying it in his chest. He pulls the sword free, blood dripping from its tip and Eret ducks as it sails over his head toward Drago. It sticks into the wood directly beside him. Drago doesn't even flinch. 

          "You missed."

          Hiccup shrugs a shoulder, green eyes narrowing. "Guess you got lucky."

          Eret is certain of yet another thing now. Hiccup definitely knows how to throw a spear if he can do the same with a heavy sword. Eret turns to Drago, his hand going for his other blade. Drago smirks at him. 

          Drago laughs. "What are you planning to do with that?" he hums as Eret's grip on the sword tightens. "Why don't you go tend to Wraith instead of making idle threats?"

          It's not a suggestion. Eret growls under his breath, walking across the deck to join Hiccup. Hiccup rolls his eyes. 

          "I'm fine." he mutters. "Just go back to what you were doing."

          Eret nods, picking up the first body and tossing him overboard. He grabs his sword from the second.  _I've had to kill way too many people recently._  

          They aren't the last. Drago keeps picking up soldiers from the other boats, not caring about who it is as long as he has a full crew. Eret doesn't care if he has to kill all of them to keep them away. The worst part is that Hiccup seems to be growing used to murder attempts. It's only been a week and the original crew is almost gone. One would think that Drago would be trying harder to keep Hiccup alive, since he wants him to join their side, but then Eret remembers that his original goal was to kill him. He could control the dragons on his own. Eret knows that first hand, but Hiccup helping would make things so much easier. 

          Drago has made is very clear he doesn't care whether Hiccup lives or dies.  _Or maybe he does. And that's why he makes sure that I have the opportunity to kill every one. He's sending a message. Making a point of just how_ easy _it would be to have him killed, but doesn't._

          As annoyed as Hiccup is getting, Eret is guessing that it's message received. After the last one, he glared at Drago for about an hour straight and then loudly exclaimed that he was getting bored of killing people. Drago had grinned at that, his fingers twitching. Eret has been watching him ever since, not that he wasn't before.

          It's in the morning of the next day when Drago puts him to work. Thankfully, he doesn't make Eret put the harness on him, but the man who does cinches it tight. Hiccup spits an insult at him and Drago warns him that his attitude won't be tolerated. They make him help haul up nets with their caches of fish. Eret can't do much to help him aside from watch to make sure nobody stabs him while he's chained to the reel. When he's unchained at the end of the day, Eret is mortified when he bites the person with the keys. Drago wasn't kidding around. He gets five lashes for it, which he makes Eret deal out. Hiccup claims that five wasn't so bad, but the way his other cuts are cracked open along with them says otherwise. The harness had been clean, but not since the whipping. Eret had gotten him out of it as soon as possible, the red chaffing lines almost ready to bleed. 

          Hiccup takes a relieved deep breath as cool water drops onto his skin. His skin in feverish, but there's no infection as of yet. Looking over him again, Eret can tell he's getting thinner. He's not eating like he should be. He doesn't eat a lot when Eret brings him food, only giving him cause for more concern. 

          It's about midnight when Hiccup snaps upright in the bed, ignoring the pain that must follow. Eret pricks to attention. " _What's wrong, Hiccup?_ "

          Hiccup shakes his head. "Nothing." he looks down at his hands in his lap. "Just... thought I heard something is all."

          " _Go to sleep. I'll keep a look out._ "

          Hiccup huffs. "Like you weren't anyway. When do you even sleep?"

          Eret smiles cryptically. " _A good sailor never reveals his secrets._ "

          Hiccup nods jerkily, lying back down. He lies awake for a bit before falling back asleep. Eret keeps a sharp eye on the door, shifting into the shadowy corner of the room. A storm whips up, rocking the boat. There's no lightning or thunder, but the wind stirs the waves up. 

          Nothing happens other than the usual routine when morning comes. Hiccup is worked hard, considering the work that needs to be done is usually done by dragons. There are two hooked up with him, but they're straining under the extra weight. Hiccup stumbles, his weak left side not responding quickly enough to keep him on his feet. When he goes down, the dragons stop, squawking to get someone's attention. The one behind him noses at his side and the other looks back at him. They squawk louder when no one comes, the hold creaking over them. 

          Eret's hands slow on the rigging and his head swivels towards the hold. Drago narrows his eyes at him and Eret glances in his direction before springing into action. He slips into the hold, letting his eyes adjust to the dark space. The dragons recognize him as Hiccup's keeper and chitter to each other. Eret sees Hiccup on his knees, coughing as he struggles to get up. Eret crouches down, keeping him off of his feet until he's sure Hiccup's all right. Hiccup tries to reassure him, but it doesn't do any good. He's shaky, at best, and Eret isn't about to let him keep going. 

          "Eret-"

          Eret shakes his head. He picks the locks on the chains and pries his bloody harness off. Whoever put it on him this time let it dig into his skin so much that it cut into him. Hiccup wheezes when the tight straps are gone and Eret picks him up, putting him over his shoulder so that he can climb from the hold. Hiccup groans at the jostling. Eret sends a glare towards the soldier who was supposed to be watching and he raises a cup of mead with a smile on his face in response.  _Oh, you are soo going to die._

          Drago sees Hiccup slung limply over Eret's shoulder and watches him slip back into the guest chamber. 

          He puts Hiccup down on the bed on his right side and Hiccup hisses. He squeezes his eyes shut. " _I am hurt._ " he mumbles. " _I am very much hurt._ "

          Eret's brow furrows. " _Are you sick?_ "

          "Of pushing a wheel around in circles." Hiccup scowls, a sharp movement making him recoil.

          " _Easy, easy! Don't move._ "

          A drawn-out moan of pain leaves his mouth and Eret tries to quiet him. Hiccup bites his bottom lip. Eret steadies him, calming him down when his breathing turns back into a wheeze. Hiccup follows up with a string of curses that could make Drago blush. 

          Drago gives him two days after that to rest. It's the end of the second day when Hiccup sits up in bed like he's been struck. 

          " _Hiccup?_ "

          A smile crosses his face. "He's here."

          " _Who is?_ "

          He chuckles lowly. "The king."

          Eret has no idea what he means by that.

          "Eret, can you get my sword and armor?"

          " _Why?_ "

          "What do you mean 'why'? We're getting out of here, and blasting these boats to bits along the way. Armor, please?"

          Eret tilts his head. There's no way for Hiccup to know that anyone is there, not unless.... " _Hiccup? Do you_ talk  _to_ _dragons?_ "

          Hiccup looks him dead in the eyes. "Yes."

          Eret groans, turning from the room and muttering under his breath. Hiccup blinks when he comes back in with a thick bundle. It's a blanket. He can hear Eret mumbling. 'Of Course, he talks to dragons. Why wouldn't he? He's only riding them like air horses.' Hiccup laughs and Eret glares at him. He tosses the armor to him and Hiccup puts it on, grateful for the soft worn leather. He feels a lot less vulnerable with it on and Eret tosses him him sword. 

          " _That thing is no good for stabbing people, you know?_ "

          Hiccup laughs. "D'you wanna bet?"

          Eret shakes his head and Hiccup laces his armor up in the front. It supports his back and side in just the right way to make him comfortable. The minute Hiccup steps outside, disaster follows. The Bewilderbeast smashes the ships that he's certain have no dragons on them, men screaming as they jump into the water. He sees Astrid flying on Stormfly and  _Stoick_ of all people riding the Rumblehorn that Hiccup had picked up on Lotsnot Island. Valka swoops by on Cloudjumper and Hiccup grins. Drago is yelling at everyone.

          He turns abruptly and sees Hiccup in full gear, sword in hand. He snarls at Eret. " _You._ "

          Eret tugs his swords out. "Yes, me. It's been a real pleasure, Drago, but I really should be going."

          Hiccup glances around for Toothless and Valka shouts to him. "He's coming, don't worry!"

          Eret fights off the crew, since Hiccup is still essentially useless in a fight in his condition. He stabs a couple people as fire rains down around him. He rushes to free all the dragons onboard and ice sails over his head as the Bewilderbeast takes on another ship. He steals the keys off of a body and lets the dragons go. He yells for them to go just as he hears a familiar shriek. 

          The Skrill, Orin, is carrying Toothless towards the ship. They're about a mile out, but Hiccup would know both of them anywhere. 

          "Hiccup, look out!"

          Hiccup turns, a behemoth of a man knocking Eret aside with a mace. He backs away from the man and he grins as Hiccup finds himself with his back against a metal cage. As he raises his arms to bring the mace down on Hiccup, a short sword lands squarely in his chest. Hiccup watches the man collapse before looking over at Eret. His arm is still out in throwing position until he looks at Hiccup with a relieved expression. There's a cut on his face and a stab wound on his right arm from one of the mace blades. The bloody lines across his chest do nothing to reassure Hiccup.

          Hiccup breaks into a run when he sees Toothless nearing the boat, still limping despite his two days rest. They aren't far now. In his distraction, he doesn't see Eret collapse, and he definitely doesn't see Drago coming up behind him. He hears Stoick calling his name and he turns, seeing Drago with a sword raised, his fake arm missing and he cloak ripped. Hiccup makes a break for it, climbing up to the bow and grabbing the steering wheel. He spins it fast, the boat creaking and croaking as it shifts in the water, barreling into another ship. 

          Hiccup stumbles, scrambling back when he hits the ground. Drago gives chase and Hiccup turns over, rushing back down the stairs. He runs for the mast, darting back and forth and smiling at Drago's frustrated growl. Drago catches him by the front of his leather and throws him back against the starboard side of the boat. His head spins and he looks up, seeing Drago coming for him. He can't move. Blood drips down his face from a wound in his hairline somewhere.

          There's a flash of movement and suddenly a bulky form is in front of him. There's a slicing of skin and a gasp of pain. The sword comes out the man's back, furry brown cloak speckling with blood. 

          " _DAD!!_ "

          Toothless drops onto the boat, a loud screech coming from his throat, tail lashing behind him. Drago turns, grinning. 

          "The great Night Fury."

          "Dad! Dad, no, no." Hiccup murmurs, coming around to his front where he can see his shoulder where the blade went in. " _Dad._ " Hiccup says, seeing Stoick looking down at him. 

          "I love you, my son."

          "No, dad.  _You can't go!_ "

          Tears start to fall and Stoick wipes them away. "I would do this every hour, every day, for a thousand years until Ragnarok if that was what it took to keep you safe."

          Hiccup tries to catch him as he falls back, but he's not strong enough and Stoick thuds onto the deck. He glances over at Toothless who has Drago pinned up against the port side. 

          "Son-" Stoick coughs. "Look at me."

          " _Dad_.  _Don't go. Don't leave me._ "

          "Listen to me. I'm going to do something I should have done years ago. G-Get the twins down here. You'll need witnesses."

          "Dad-" 

          "Do it. Hurry." Stoick orders. 

          Hiccup turns, calling for the twins and they fly overhead, cackling until they see what's happening. Every rider in the vicinity drops to the deck once they see what's going on. Hiccup glances over at Drago.

          "Keep him there, bud."

          Toothless growls in response, not looking away from Drago. 

          Valka joins him at Stoick's side, the fighting dragons and screaming men seeming to fade into background noise. Even Eret makes his way over, holding his right side. 

          Stoick takes a sharp breath, heaving himself up against the side of the boat. He coughs, wiping blood from his lips. "I say these words before the people of Berk and the spirits of my forefathers. I, Stoick the Vast, receive this boy, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, back into the tribe at his original standing. I am proud to call him a viking, and to call him my son. Berk as my witness, allow him to walk in your golden halls with honor restored."

          Hiccup chokes on a sob and Astrid rests hand on his shoulder. He turns to her as Stoick gets a glazed look in his eyes and she holds onto him tightly. Valka kneels next to him. 

          "Stoick?"

          "My beautiful Valka." she laughs, tears falling on his face. "I love you."

          "I love you, Stoick. To the end of my days until we meet again in Valhalla."

          Stoick breathes deeply, a weak tune coming from his throat. Valka weeps. He croaks out words as he gets weaker and Hiccup clutches to Astrid's back. 

          " _I'll swim and sail on savage seas_

_With ne'er a fear of drowning_

_And gladly ride the waves of life,_

_if you will marry me."_

          Valka curls into his side and he wraps his arms around her as well as he can. Stoick's voice is quieter, almost a whisper. Hiccup squeezes his eyes shut. It's all wrong, all wrong.

          " _Nor scorching sun,_

_nor freezing cold_

_Will stop me on.... my journey._

_If you will promise me your heart,_

_And love-"_

          Stoick trails off, a heavy sigh leaving him. Valka picks it up for him, gripping one of his hands between hers. "- _And love me for eternity._ "

          Valka presses a kiss to Stoick's forehead and his eyes flutter open to look at her one last time. "For you, my dear, anything."

          He breathes his last. 

          The quiet keening sound that Hiccup makes has Astrid shushing him and stroking his hair. 

          "Oh. How sad." Drago says, faux sympathy dripping from his tone. "The boy chief-"

          Toothless' jaws clamp down around Drago's neck before he can make another sound. Hiccup jerks as his body hits the wooden floor. Toothless crawls over, his body low to the ground. He lifts his head to lick at Hiccup's hair in comfort. The Bewilderbeast surfaces next to the boat. All of the dragons perch on the other boats, all facing the one that the king is looking at. A soft moaning leaves his huge body and the other dragons take up the sound. It's a soulful croon that Hiccup finds himself following.

          Astrid looks around. Every dragon has its head bowed and eyes shut. The strange man who protected Hiccup is staring up at the sky, leaning against the mast for support. 

          Valka is the first to rise, wiping her face and stooping to help Hiccup off the ground. She hugs him tightly before pulling back and brushing his hair from away from his eyes. "You have made your father very proud. Never doubt that."

          Hiccup nods, sniffling and wiping his eyes. "We-we need to make a pyre."

          Valka shakes her head. "I think we should tend to your friend first. Stoick would want that."

          Hiccup glances over at Eret and he's still holding his side, small spots of blood slowly growing bigger. "Eret."

          He doesn't answer. 

          "Eret." Hiccup says, snapping his fingers in front of his face.

          He smiles thinly. "Hey."

          "We're going to get you patched up, all right?"

          Eret nods. "All right. It's going to be strange. You taking care of my wounds for a change."

          "It's only fair. Come on."

          Valka follows them and helps Hiccup with the stitching, his hands shaking so badly at some points that he can hardly hold the needle. Eret glances up at him from where he's sitting. 

          " _Do you remember what I told you?_ "

          Hiccup nods, wrapping a bandage around his arm. Valka says nothing, only cleaning one of the cuts on his chest. They're silent until the wind comes up, and the wind cuts across their skin. Valka feels him tense as she's tending to the cut on his face. 

          "You must be cold."

          He nearly denies it, but a succinct nod is his response instead. Valka smiles, walking off to find a blanket. 

          "Eret?"

          He takes a deep breath, pulling back a little before looking up. " _Yeah, Hiccup?_ "

          "Thank you. For everything."

          Eret shakes his head. " _No. Thank you._ "

          "You know... I'm sorta chief now, and-" he stops, biting his lips and closing his eyes, turning his face up towards the sky. "Oh gods. What am I even going to do?"

          " _You don't have to do anything now. Don't even think about it now. Everything can wait until you're back on Berk._ "

          Hiccup nods, looking at Valka as she comes by, dropping a thick blanket around Eret's shoulders. He thanks her and stands, walking a little stiffly to help the twins set up the pyre. Hiccup helps bear his father's body on top of it when it's finished, putting Eret on the Rumblehorn, since it's the only other dragon with a rope around it. Hiccup and the others pick up bows and they fly a distance away. Hiccup gives the eulogy, loosing the first arrow after getting Toothless to light it. The Bewilderbeast murmurs lamentations as the boat burns. Toothless croons as Hiccup leans against his neck, dropping the bow into the ocean below.

          A choked breath leaves him and Toothless turns around, heading for home. Not Berk, but home. The Bewilderbeast follows, beckoning the rest of the nest. Hiccup and Toothless fly way out ahead, turning into a little black speck to the others' eyes. They arrive within a half-hour at the volcano and Toothless moves immediately for the softest thing he can think of. He lays Hiccup down in the nest, curling around him and crooning constantly. Hiccup groans.

          "Just.... I gotta get out of my armor, bud."

          Toothless licks at his hair, soothing him as he carefully tugs the laces of his armor. Once it's off, Toothless sniffs at the tattoo on his side before electing to ignore it in favor of thoroughly licking his back. Begrudging, Hiccup admits that it feels pretty nice. The combination of rough and soft is just enough to let him keep going. 

          Hiccup wipes his eyes. "What am I going to do, bud?  _He's gone, and now I'm chief._ "

          Toothless coos, focused on Hiccup's injuries. Hiccup turns to face him and Toothless' big green eyes are full of reassurance. He starts licking at Hiccup's face, cleaning off the sticky blood that he hadn't realized was still there. He lets Toothless continue, closing his eyes and letting the rocking motion lull him into a doze. It's only when he hears a soft voice in the cave that he cracks an eyelid open just a smidge. The cave has filled up, all of the dragons from the king Toothless' nests inside all curled as close to the center as they can be without disturbing Toothless. Looking around, Hiccup sees the Bewilderbeast stretched out along the far wall, Cloudjumper lightly snoring near his head. 

          Stoick's Rumblehorn bellows at someone. Hiccup doesn't have to guess who. The person in question appears and Hiccup looks blankly up at Eret.

          "You look... confused."

          Hiccup only stares.

          "Looks like you might have a bit of a concussion." he says, tilting Hiccup's head to look at something. "Yep. Pretty nasty by the looks of it. Took a bit to set in."

          "M'fine." 

          Eret chuckles. "Of course you are. Perhaps I'll just leave you to gaze hollowly at the wall, yeah?"

          Hiccup shrugs. 

          Frowning, Eret reaches forwards to get a better look at Hiccup's head. Toothless' tail curls around Hiccup in his sleep and Eret raises a hand in defense. He gently moves Hiccup's hair until he finds the bump. 

          "This has been thoroughly cleaned already. Whoever did it did a good job, but you've been alone for the past five hours."

          "Toothless." Hiccup says, as if that explains everything.

          Eret pulls his hands away before cringing in disgust. "What is in your hair?"

          "Toothless' saliva."

          Eret wipes his hands on his pants. "And you've been living alone for how long?"

          Hiccup blinks. "Five."

          "Years? Months? Five what?"

          "Years."

          "That's a disgusting thing to put up with for five years."

          "It has its perks." Hiccup says, shrugging again.

          Eret grins. "Would you look at that? A sentence longer than two words."

          Hiccup doesn't respond, only twisting awkwardly and sinking into his dragon's side.

          "You're brave, you know? More brave than me, more than any of the men in Drago's army. You stood up to him, not just once, but a lot, and you were hurt for it. Actually... come to think of it, I can't tell if you're brave or stupid."

          Hiccup huffs. "Could tell you which."

          "But even after the lashes? Still just being stubborn and throwing a sword at Drago's head? I could never have done that, not... not in my wildest dreams."

          Hiccup curls a bit closer to Toothless. "Thanks. I guess." Toothless accepts him easily, curling a paw around him and covering him up with a wing, effectively hiding him from view. He doesn't dream, which is nice, and he doesn't wake is a creaky old boat, so that's even better. 

          Hiccup stares at Toothless when he wakes up, trying to talk to him, but he gives himself a splitting headache instead. Toothless licks at him, nudging him to his feet. He's woozy, and he uses Toothless to steady himself as they walk around a little. The heat of the cave is amazing on his sore... everything. Astrid is the first to realize that he's up and about. 

          "Hiccup?"

          A sloppy grin forms on his face and he squints his eyes a bit to see her clearer. "Hey Astrid."

          Toothless croons as she walks over, butting her side with his head. She pets him a little before turning to Hiccup. She wraps her arms around him with caution and Hiccup is grateful. 

          "Can I look at them?" Astrid asks quietly. "Is that okay?"

          Hiccup nods. "It's fine. They're just sore."

          "How's your head?"

          "Swimming, but... I'll manage."

          As Astrid moves around his back, Hiccup expects her hands to touch him at least once. He's not wrong as her slim fingertips slide over his tattoo. They follow it until her hand is on his hip and she's reaching around, her fingers barely touching the brand before covering it ever so gently. 

          She hugs him from behind, and he breathes in her scent, finding it so comforting that he relaxes into her grip. She's quiet for a moment before pressing her lips to his shoulder.

          "Astrid, wha-?"

          " _I never knew just what you meant to me until I thought you were gone_."

          Hiccup is frozen for a moment before turning to look at her. "That worried, huh?"

          "I'd punch your shoulder, but I might hurt you."

          Hiccup smiles, though it's followed by a grimace as a sharp pain in his skull as his headache reminds him to sit down. Toothless nudges him and Hiccup carefully returns to the nest, Astrid at his side. 

          "You know, no matter what, in these last five years, you've been right there." Hiccup says.

          "You showed me the truth about dragons, and you've protected all of us. It's only fair, chief."

          Hiccup carefully settles in the nest. "Please don't call me that."

          Astrid sits down outside the nest. "But it's true, and you'll have to go back at some point."

          "What's Spitelout going to say? He was next in line after I was outcasted."

          Astrid hesitates before speaking. "Spitelout won't say anything, mostly because.... because he's dead."

          Hiccup's brow furrows. "What about Snotlout?"

          "He's fine, but he doesn't want to be chief."

          Hiccup nods, taking a deep breath. "I don't really want to either, but... I need to go back. After I get rid of this splitting headache."

          Astrid smiles. "Do you mind if I come in there with you?"

          "Only if Toothless lets you. I don't mind, but he might."

          Toothless smiles at her, shifting a bit to make space. Astrid slips inside  and leans against Toothless. "I don't get how you sleep in here. It's too warm."

          "I'm used to it. I run warm anyway." Astrid turns when she hears a shriek and Hiccup glances over at the Screaming Death. "Hey! Azazel, that's enough! You need to calm down or you're going to stab somebody."

          He glances over at Hiccup, carefully flying over the dragons in the den the come by for a scratch on the nose. "Good boy. Did you destroy a lot of ships yesterday?" He opens his mouth in the toothy smile that Hiccup has come to enjoy. "That's great. Why don't you go grab some fish, eh? Does that sound good?"

          He roars quietly in the way that only the Screaming Death can and Hiccup smiles. 

          "He really likes you."

          Hiccup nods glancing over at the odd three-tailed dragon perched on top of his forge. "They all do. I'm not quite sure what it is, since I haven't really felt the need to ask."

          "Besides the king, you got any other watery dragons I should know about?"

          "None that can stay in the cave." Hiccup says. "The Scauldrons circle the island and the Seashockers stay outside of the fog bank to warn of any incoming boats."

          Astrid nods. "And... the fog bank?"

          "Smothering Smokebreaths. They protect the island in exchange for metal that I don't use."

          "Metal? What do they need it for?"

          "They have a nest, just over there." Hiccup says, yawning and pointing lazily towards a spot near the entrance. "They're right next to the small hive of Fireworms."

          Astrid blinks. "There's... not a queen in here, is there?"

          "Nah. I found her once, but she's got her own cave to care for."

          "You thought about it? No, nevermind, of course you thought about it." 

          Hiccup grins, turning onto his side. "I've thought about a lot of things, Astrid."

          "You must have a lot of stories."

          Hiccup shrugs and Toothless rumbles, telling him to rest. Astrid leaves the warm nest, watching Toothless curl around Hiccup protectively. She laughs quietly as he licks at the tufts of hair poking out from the cover of his wings.

          She walks out of the cave into the early morning rays and finds Valka staring off towards the sunrise. "Hey."

          "Ah, hello. You must be Astrid."

          "Yep."

          "My son is very fond of you."

          Astrid smiles. "Is he now?"

          "From what I've heard. He says he doesn't see you enough."

          "Enough, or often?" Astrid grins, knowing the meddling ways of mothers.

          She laughs. "Well, I don't remember  _exactly_ what he said, but it was something like that."

          Astrid smiles softly. "I'm sure he did."

          She turns to look at Astrid. "How is he?"

          "He's tired, and dizzy, and he really doesn't want to go back to Berk."

          "He'll do what he knows is right, no matter what he feels now. He just.... he doesn't know how he's going to fill his father's shoes."

          "I know." Astrid murmurs. "I just hope he can figure it out."

          "He will. Stoick believed, and so should we."

          Valka rests a hand on Astrid's shoulder and turns to go back inside, Eret and the twins coming out. Astrid only hopes that Hiccup is ready soon. He's been living by himself for years, with no one to boss him around or try to tell him what's right.

          He decides it's been long enough at around midday. "I'm going back to Berk, and I'm bringing all of my dragons with me."

          Valka raises a brow. "Is that a good idea?"

          "Do I care?" Hiccup huffs. "I built a life for myself, and I'm not giving it up just so that I can become just a chief for the rest of my days."

          A small smile forms on Valka's face. "No, I suppose you wouldn't."

          Hiccup nods, surveying his hoard of dragons, the king already standing in the water, ready to go. Eret is back on the Rumblehorn, which Valka said Stoick had named Skullcrusher. The twins are hitting each other from where they sit on the Zippleback's heads. Astrid is watching him as he stares back at the volcano. He smiles to try to reassure her, but he can tell that it doesn't really work. 

          "Whenever you're ready, Hiccup." Valka says.

          Hiccup turns. A part of him is staying in that cave. He can't tell if it's the comfort or the pain, but whatever it is, it hurts. He doesn't know if he'll ever come back.

          Taking a deep breath, Hiccup and Toothless lift into the air and the rest of the two nests follow. Orin and Nutmeg stay close by his sides and the Screaming Death bobs up and down with the tide, looping around the king when he comes up to greet him. Every exotic dragon he's ever gotten is restless, wondering where they're all headed. Typhoomerangs spins around in lazy circles, easily keeping pace with the Timberjacks. Deathsongs play with the Nadders, and a Sandwraith chirps to Orin. 

          It takes all of fifteen minutes to reach Berk's shores, and their arrival is met with silence. There aren't cheers or screams because they aren't sure whether to be afraid or not. 

          They all group together in the square and Snotlout steps forward to speak. "What are you doing here?" he says, loudly, but nervously.

          Hiccup locks Toothless into place and stands up in his saddle, pulling his hood down to address them. "Stoick is dead."

          There are gasps and murmurs. Snotlout looks shocked.

          "While he lay dying, he reclaimed me before the gods and made me your new chief."

          While Snotlout looks relieved, there's still murmuring among the people. "How do we know? You have no proof!" Another shouts, "Anything is better than Snotlout!"

          "I have witnesses." Hiccup says, watching as the people in question ride out to be even with him. 

          Valka takes off her mask first, and Astrid gives the people a steely look. The twins stare down at the masses with sad frowns on their faces. And there's Eret. There's questions being shouted as to who the fifth party is, but it's a witness no less. 

          "These people have no reason to lie to you, and I certainly didn't ask for this. So please, I'm asking you to just.... give me a chance."

          Silence is his response.

          Snotlout is the first to speak. "I believe you. Stoick was a brave man, and I've always known you to be an honest one, and for that, I'll step down to the first in line."

          Hiccup is shocked, to say the least, but he nods respectfully towards his cousin. There's a shuffle and Hiccup sees Gothi nudging her way through the crowd. He settles back in Toothless' saddle and lands in front of her. She reaches a hand out and he takes it. She dips her head and splays her other hand, gesturing for him to kneel. Hiccup does so and she steps away to find some ashes. It's not too hard, considering the recent events, but there have obviously been considerable efforts at cleaning up. She smiles at him before having Hiccup bow his head to receive the mark of a chief. When she's finished, Hiccup stands and Gothi turns, the smile on her face serene as she forms a bowl with her hands and lifts them to the sky. 

          "It's a blessing!" someone shouts. "It must be true!" Hiccup realizes that the second voice is Fishlegs and he smiles at him.

          Gobber approaches. "We accept you, Hiccup Haddock III as chief of Berk. May your rule be fair and just, that it may last you many long years."

          Hiccup stands. "My first command is peace. Peace with dragons." There's silence and Hiccup waves them down. "Go on, guys. Make friends. Be gentle."

          There's a happy chorus of chittering and all of the reasonably sized dragons land. At first, people are cautious, but as Gothi picks up as many Terrors as she can carry, they get excited. Hiccup pets Toothless as Gobber comes close enough to hug him. 

          "Welcome home, Hiccup. I've missed you, laddie."

          "I hope that I'll be able to honor my father's memory." Hiccup says, trying hard not to start crying. "Maybe one day... make him proud." 

          "Laddie, if he hasn't told you, you already have." 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know, he touched the skrill without dying via electrocution, but I feel like the skrill should have some semblance of control, unlike in the show. :)  
> This should probably be more than one chapter. :):)  
> I am also aware that Bewilderbeasts aren't supposed to be able to fly, but given the amount of stuff on their backs, I'm sure they could fit in huge wings somewhere.


End file.
